Several elderly women here say that Jeddah was once a place where people cared for each other and did not worry about becoming rich.

The women from the Al-Ehsan charitable society recently visited the 200-year-old Ba’Eshen Historical House with Maha Ba’Eshen, the novelist and owner of the building.

Ba’Eshen organized the trip to provide some entertainment for the women. She gave the women a tour of the building and explained its historical and cultural importance.

During a tour of one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, several women recalled the traditional activities of the area, how the neighbors took care of each other, had respect for their elders, loved children, and had lots of time to discuss and solve social problems.

They said many people also did voluntary work and helped pilgrims, before the country became wealthy.

They said many changes had taken place in Jeddah over the past 50 years including the architecture of the buildings.

Ba’Eshen praised the Al-Ehsan society for providing entertainment and cultural activities for the women. Hessah Al-Ghamdi, the supervisor of the society's media and public relations department, said she was happy that the women were able to get some form of support with this community activity.