The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and Jeddah Municipality are keen to make Balad a world heritage site but the downtown cleaning and security has become a challenge for them.

“The sewage water spills on to the street with foul smell, and no one is there to take care of this matter. We don’t know why the municipality is not taking care of this as not only Balad, but many areas of Jeddah are flooded with sewage water, which is dangerous and the cause for many diseases,” said Abdul Kareem, a resident of Balad area.

The Al-Dahab Street of main Balad market in front of the historical area was full of sewage water that was creating problems not only for the shops and shopkeepers but also for the visitors to the market.

Abdul Aziz Shahree, a visitor, said the municipality and SCTA should take care of the area as it is a famous area of Jeddah and visitors from within the Kingdom and abroad visit the place to see the historical area and for shopping.

Sharee was here with his family from Riyadh to spend their school spring vacation and visited the area but was disappointed with the condition.

“We are living here for the past 30 years and things have changed, but the drainage system is still not effective. The security for old buildings is not adequate as the buildings and the surrounding area still have old wires and electrical system that can cause short circuit anytime.

The old sewage system also needs overhauling. People moved out from Balad to other posh areas but still this is the heart of Jeddah and it needs attention,” said Mustafa Ahmed.

Two days ago, a fire broke out in the historical area of Jeddah and the cause of the fire is still not known. A few floors of one of the historical buildings in the area was burned. A few days back, on the same street, the first floor of an old building collapsed.

Waleed Sami Abu Shanb, deputy spokesman of the Civil Defense in Makkah, told a local newspaper that they rushed to the area as soon as they received the news of the fire in Balad and prevented any major damage.