JEDDAH, 23 October 2005 — Last weekend, Tahlia Street was bustling with a swell of shoppers who created a scene more like Mina or Makkah during Haj.
The sidewalks were crowded with people both from Jeddah and other cities all hoping to get their Eid shopping out of the way a little early this year.
“People came from Makkah, Taif and the rural areas of Jeddah,” a salesclerk named Nabeel told Arab News. “That’s why we faced huge crowds. I’m expecting even bigger crowds over the coming weekend.”
“Last year, I was shopping until the night before Eid because of the crowds,” said Mona Wafeeq, a Tahlia Street shopper. “I don’t want to repeat that experience this year.”
There are factors that could make Tahlia Street even busier next weekend.
“First, the salaries will be paid this week,” said Jeddah teacher Wael Ibraheem. “Secondly, schools also will end this week.”
For some Jeddah shoppers the throngs on Tahlia Street are just too much, prompting them to look for alternatives.
One salesclerk at Zara on Tahlia Street advised shoppers to avoid the peak times.
“Pray Friday and come here after 2 p.m., and you will enjoy shopping,” the salesclerk said. “Don’t even think of coming at night.”
Others seek out the malls.
“Yesterday I went to Aziz Mall, which was empty,” said Manal Abdul Rahman, a student at King Abdul Aziz University. “I had fun shopping peacefully away from the huge crowds.”
When the stores close, it is time for the salesclerks and street cleaners to try and restore Tahlia Street to some kind of order.
By closing time the street is a mess, with soda cans strewn here and there, nutshells, candy wrappers, shawarma jackets thrown near the walls of the stores.
Inside the shops it is not much different.
“It’s a mess. We find jeans and pants in the blouse area, shirts mixed in with the nightclothes,” said an exasperated Zara clerk. “It takes a long time to rearrange everything and put it back in its place for the customers coming in next day.”
He said the cleanup takes most of the night.
As for the crowds, in addition to shoppers there are chickpeas, sweets and toys. Add to this street vendors selling DVDs, knockoff perfumes, nuts, everywhere imaginable and Tahlia Street becomes a very busy place.
“The sidewalk itself needs to be widened,” said Abdul Wahab Araki, a retiree from the Makkah Municipality who was in charge of checking the spaces in front of the stores. “Although it is two-meters wide, the space is lost between the squares put there for the trees and the bumpers of the parked cars. They should clear the trees out and redesign the parking spaces.”
Perhaps at some point the municipality will consider a redesign, but next weekend you can expect Tahlia Street to be busy.
