When Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port city of Jeddah welcomed Formula One star Lewis Hamilton and U.S. singer Jennifer Lopez for its Grand Prix this month, visitors discovered an unexpected gem: the city’s historic old town.
While Jeddah is renowned as the kingdom’s modern commercial hub, its old town had long been neglected after the departure of its merchant class.
As part of Saudi Arabia's ambitious Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy and reduce dependence on oil, revitalizing the city's cultural heritage has become a key focus to boost tourism.
Many visitors attending the F1 event found themselves charmed by the relaxed atmosphere of the newly restored old Jeddah.
Known in Arabic as al-Balad, the town has the feel of previous centuries, with its Arabic-styled wooden architecture in brown and blue hues that reflect the city's location between the sand of the Arabian desert and the sea.
"It's my first time in Saudi Arabia, and the old city is very beautiful with earthy tones... and has a very particular architecture," said Rossella from Milan.
Al-Balad was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014. Since then, the government has accelerated plans to restore about 650 buildings and revive the district's local businesses.
Fadil Zahir, 57, was born in the old town and works as a barista there.
"Tourists and visitors are coming to al-Balad in great numbers," he said.
UNESCO cited historic Jeddah as "the only surviving urban ensemble of the Red Sea," where coral-stone tower houses adorned with Roshan wooden balconies stand alongside mosques as old as the advent of Islam, when the third Caliph, Uthman bin Affan, declared the city to be Mecca's official port.
"I am 62 now. I see what I could see 40 years ago. You talk about changes, I say it’s actually going back to the original," said Ahmed Alkhanbashi, a general manager at Alkhanbashi Business Development Bureau.
