What to do in Jeddah over a weekend

Jeddah's King Fahad's Fountain

This is not Geneva fountain, rather a replica as seen from Jeddah's Corniche.
The powerful fountain expels an awesome column of water from the Red Sea shore, a few hundreds of meters high; the sea breeze decides on the water jet orientation making the bride dance before your eyes . A visit not to miss, specially at night, when the sail shaped water element joins the black sky in its bleached snowy white robe. 

The old Corniche, a popular tourist destination of the Kingdom's largest city of the Red Sea, offers other distractions to your eyes like these golden lights and hotels that complete the overall décor around the tall bride: no doubt you've been invited to the fountain's wedding.

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Al Fakieh Aquarium

Not the largest aquarium you'd visit but an interesting concentrate of the Red Sea wild life in all its aspects, here below represented by an impressive humphead wrasse fish and its particularly yet naturally botoxed lips and a terrifying murena coming straight out of a horror movie.

This butterfly fish shares its glass habitat with a clownfish sheltering between the tentacles of a Red Sea anemone, offering the most colorful scene of Jeddah's Al Fakieh aquarium.

Now some serious stuff: the Red Sea sharks...nervously patrolling their artificial enclosure whenever not having a nap on its sand bed.  They are yet nervous all the time, and so are you if and when by mistake, you forget the crystal glass and get transported to their confined space...
Those who like Tintin and his adventures, will remember Hergé's "The Red Sea Sharks" marvel, when Tintin, Haddok, Snowy and Skut went drifting on a raft in the Red Sea.

Al Fakieh aquarium also hosts turtles which elegant swimming gestures are always a pleasure to your sight and stingrays like this dotted specimen peacefully decorating the sea floor.

Not to miss any category, take a look at these tiny transparent and translucent jelly fish  creatures mixing with bubbles and creating a relaxing spectacle that transports you to a different state of mind, between the water and air elements.

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Jeddah Old Town - "Al Balad"

Jeddah old district or "Al Balad" in Arabic, remains by far the most valuable and rememberable tourist attraction although you risk finding no one on a Friday morning. 
Old buildings with typical wooden balconies and white plastered façades constitute the attraction of this neighborhood. 

It's also one of the very few places in Saudi Arabia where you can find tiny and narrow streets, some strictly pedestrian. The incredible wooden balconies are painted in different shades of brown, or matt blue and green. A colorful walk, preferably in the early morning in summer time to avoid the  heat of the day. 

Jeddah's Academy of Arts enchants the center of the old city with its beautiful building, paintings and artefacts.  

Superb entrance doors along with even more charming and disorganized electrical cables decorate the houses.

From time to time, tall trees invite themselves to your photos adding a bit of life to the still heritage constructions. 

While the balconies could have been used as balconies, or extensions to the living room, or a way to hide the inside of a house or apartment while allowing to open the windows for catching a breeze, it is unfortunate that these are being used in modern times to fit an air conditioner, which sometimes remains well visible.

Oriental ornaments hide here and there along the façades of Jeddah's Al Balad. The damaged plastering indicates the age of the respectable architectural attraction.

Al Naseef house or museum was closed at the time of our walk, and we were told that it is permanently closed which we could not verify however.
A disappointing ending to the Old City's visit, yet it will be for sure the purpose of a next trip, and very soon "inchallah".