JEDDAH: Marked by its narrow alleyways, surging crowds and cheap prices, Bab Makkah or (Makkah Gate) is one of downtown’s popular areas, not only for people living nearby, but also for people who travel long distances in traffic to shop.
Like almost all downtown souks, Bab Makkah has its mini-shops selling various products that range from cloth to food to home accessories.
The area is distinguished by a large plaza filled with street vendors of both genders — yes, while you won’t find women sales clerks in malls, this is not the case in the more traditional Bab Makkah.
Bedouin women sell incense, handmade burqus and other women’s items. Egyptian women sell cloth and kitchen utensils. Somali women have the market cornered on henna and lahouh, a type of flat bread found in East Africa.
Women from Chad and Mali sell handmade souvenirs, including colorful fans, sweepers and wooden boxes.
Aicha, an elderly Malian woman sitting on the side of the Bab Makkah plaza, said she has been a street vendor for 15 years. Aicha comes every day from Makkah during Ramadan to sell her handmade products, ranging from SR2 to SR20.
Another Egyptian woman, who declined to give her name, showed off her Egyptian dancing dresses, drums and accessories, saying that Saudis buy them in large quantities and then sell them in different parts of the Kingdom. She has given each of her dresses a name, such as “Pamper Me!,” “You Either Come, or I Will!,” and “Cut Me To Pieces!”
The woman said she has been living in the area and operating the business for 25 years. As Arab News spoke with her, others came up and greeted her; she appeared to be very popular in the market.
She asked that we be careful in describing the bustling life of Balad, so as to avoid the scrutiny of those who might be offended by it and want to change it.
Men in the souk tend to sell miswak (the ubiquitous tooth-cleaning stick found in this part of the world) and decorative or plain small thin staffs.
Abu Majid, a Yemeni man who has sold in the market for years, said he buys his sticks from a nearby trader who brings the sticks from Egypt and Syria. He sells his sticks for SR2, with no difference in price between the colored and the plain sticks.
Abu Majid said he takes in about SR50 every day from selling his sticks and has to pay SR10 to a person who helps carry the sticks to and from his home.
Schools buy these sticks to use them in their events, said Abu Majid, who believes that such sticks are useful at homes to beat naughty children.
“We usually sell more in Ramadan, but this season sales are down!” added Abu Majid, who was pointing at the sky and saying “Livelihood is from Allah.”
Not far away was an elderly African man selling miswak and large hats, and he was extremely busy with customers of varying nationalities, so we preferred not to distract him and, instead, took a photo of him and his friend on the right who was taking a nap and not fearing that his miswak sticks would be stolen.
Other products available in the courtyard, that are popular, are fireworks. Speaking to a Yemeni selling them, he said he buys them from a smuggler who brings them from Yemen.
The fireworks have different names, such as the Butterfly, Azouz and others. Their prices range from SR2 to SR7, said the seller.
The language used in Bab Makkah is a hodge-podge of poorly pronounced Arabic words and grammar, with Asian or African accents, as well as a smattering of different languages that belies Jeddah’s long history as a centuries-old merchant’s port and the coastal gateway to Islam’s holiest site.
It’s easy to find people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippine, Indonesia, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, and many other countries. The facial features of the souk tells you that this is indeed a special melting pot in a bustling city.
