Historians dispute a number of things about Jeddah, beginning with the name and going on to the city’s development and age. What is indisputable is that the city has, throughout its long history, been a natural strategic port. The port has been not only a means of delivering goods and merchandise but for centuries was the principal gateway to Makkah.
Potable water has always been a problem and has hindered the growth and development of the city. A scarce supply of fresh water denied Jeddah the expansion such an important port and town would have otherwise experienced. The lack of fresh water also goes a long way to explaining why Jeddah remained a walled square kilometer until 1948. The oil boom, however, brought a desalinization plant to Jeddah and the city expanded — some would say exploded — outside the borders that had contained her for centuries.
The square kilometer which was once all of Jeddah is now only one of the city’s smallest districts. Some people call the area “Al-Balad”, which translates as “the town”, but it is officially known as the Historic Quarter. It is indeed historic because some 500 buildings there range in age from 150 to 400 years. Some mosques in the area were built originally over 1,400 years ago at the time of Omar and Othman, the second and third caliphs. Not much of the original buildings remain since the mosques have been renovated many times during their long history.
When you take a stroll around the small but fascinating old town, you can sense the oriental Arabic and Islamic spirit in every stone and piece of wood. The architectural style is amazingly attractive and fits right into its setting. It is an Arabic and Islamic style that is not unique to Jeddah. It is a style seen in many coastal towns on both sides of the Red Sea — in Yemen, Eritrea, Egypt, Sudan and Jordan and even as far away as Pakistan and Iran.
This traditional and natural beauty has somehow failed to capture the imaginations of architects responsible for the designs of new Jeddah. This cultural and national treasure which history was kind to preserve for us until today was at one time about to crumble. It required immediate attention and that came in 1981 from the then Makkah Governor, Prince Majed, and then Mayor Khaled Abdul Ghani. They established a department to preserve the historic town and they found the man for the job: Sami Nawwar, born and raised in one of the historic houses.
The task was not as easy as it may sound. In the planning stages, each area was classified according to the condition of its buildings. Of 500 buildings, 70 percent were considered to be stable and in good condition. These are inhabited or are being used in one way or another. Thirteen percent of them were considered hazardous and in need of urgent repair. About 17 percent of the houses were vacant and some of them are in good condition.
It costs about SR80,000 to renovate and restore one “hazardous” building so the budget needed to renovate the entire area can be imagined. Nawwar says he is in contact with the Supreme Commission for Tourism, which may indicate that more money will become available for renovation and preservation. “We need many things to overcome the hurdles facing us,” Nawwar says. “In order for the area to function as a tourist attraction, we have to solve the problem of accessibility to the historic area and figure out how parking spaces or public transportation could be utilized.” The problem is largely financial, he says. “We are looking to overcome it with investment in buildings that the government owns.”
If successful, we should expect to be touring buildings in the historic area with guides in the not too distant future. The guides will explain the history of the house and its inhabitants and perhaps show some of the historic ownership documents which are in a separate museum. There are many fascinating sites. The guide could take visitors to a well that is about 500 years old and was one reason Jeddah managed to defeat Portuguese attempts at invasion. The well supplied Jeddah and its defenders with fresh water during the three-month siege.
