What is the real motive behind the ongoing campaign to demolish and destroy the beautiful monuments, public squares and roundabouts in Jeddah? All of these were designed and built by an engineer who grew up admiring beauty and who realized the meaning of planting trees and flowers to brighten and adorn streets which run past the homes of the rich as well as the poor. Is eliminating these monuments meant to satisfy a few who claim that squares and roundabouts impede the flow of traffic? Why is such destruction being carried out without consulting the will of the majority of citizens whose opinions are either not valued or are simply ignored altogether.The people behind this destruction have to realize the real value of these beautiful sculptures and monuments and ought to appreciate the time and energy spent producing them. The credit for many of these monuments belongs to a former mayor of Jeddah, Muhammad Saeed Farsi. An engineer by profession, he spent a great deal of time and energy producing them in order to give the city a touch of beauty. It was those very things, admired by the residents of Jeddah and its visitors, that earned the city a distinctive place among the Kingdom’s cities. The destruction has not just confined to the city’s streets but has extended to include the Corniche where construction works clutter the beach, denying the public both a view of the sea and a breath of fresh air.One roundabout after another is being removed without improving traffic flow. In some places traffic flow has worsened. Before the destruction began, motorists who had no choice but to wait for changing traffic lights could at least look at something attractive and interesting. Now even this simple pleasure is being taken from them. Jeddah’s problems will not be solved by demolishing sculptures and public squares but by building more roads, more bridges, more flyovers and more tunnels.
15 July 2002
