JEDDAH, 26 April 2006 — The biggest tour group to visit Jeddah in two years arrived yesterday on the cruise ship MS Bremen. The 84 tourists from Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the UK, left their ship in the Jeddah Islamic Port early yesterday morning to visit sites of interest in Jeddah.
The group, whose visit was organized by Alireza Travel and Tours, was met at the port by Khattar Chaaya, the company’s general manager. “It was only a short visit,” he said. “It was not enough to show them the city’s richness.”
Ema Brunnmair, a 67-year-old German retiree, said: “I have read a lot about Saudi Arabia and visited exhibitions pertaining to the country. I was happy to visit the Kingdom and see some things for myself; it was a pleasant surprise.”
The group, which spent only four hour hours in the city, received a variety of impressions to take away with them; some of the impressions shattered long-held preconceptions.
One visitor said that his ideas about Saudi Arabia and the city of Jeddah had been completely wrong. “I thought that Jeddah was some sort of one road city with no new buildings and a small port. When I saw the port and the modern buildings, I was frankly shocked,” he said. “The mixture of architecture we saw in the villas and buildings, combining much Western and Arab architecture, was a real eye-opener.”
Dr. Mohamed Badawi, owner of an Afro-Arabic art gallery in Konstanz, said that he regretted that he had the opportunity for only a short visit. “There is so much to see and so little time to see it,” he said.
“We did not really have much time to buy souvenirs or try the local food,” said one. The group did, however, visit the Balad area to photograph the buildings constructed from coral blocks and plaster; they were dismayed to see the dilapidated state of many of the old buildings. They were also surprised to learn that even in their run-down condition, the buildings were still home to many people.
As with any tourist group, practical considerations soon came to the fore. Samir Gomosani from Platin Tourism Services said that he was embarrassed that so little was available in the way of toilet facilities.
“I was embarrassed when asked by the group about public toilet facilities,” he said. “We had to use the occasional mosque to help out. Unfortunately, these were not very clean and I was unhappy because of the impression our guests received. If tourism is to be successful here, we have to install pay toilets.”
The tour group agreed that they would like to return and spend much longer in the Kingdom after what was their first taste. “There is a wealth of art and culture here I had no idea existed,” said Lother Nechleba. “But getting visas to visit is very difficult indeed if I want to come outside an organized tour group.”
