By Mohd. Omar Malik
I have many fond memories associated with my birthplace – Jeddah, also known as ‘Mermaid of the Red Sea’. Being the second largest city of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah is home to around 4,000,000 people.
It is located on The Red Sea coast in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Being the commercial centre of Saudi Arabia, the city attracts tourists from all around the globe.
Due to its proximity to the equator, Jeddah’s climate does not allow us to experience frequent monsoons or winters. It rains only a couple of times every year and we rarely need our winter clothes. But sandstorms are very common here and Jeddah experiences one every couple of weeks.
Interestingly, Jeddah is known for both – its deserts and desserts! Part of the world’s largest sand desert, Rub-al-Khali, is in Jeddah. The city is also full of tourist destinations, some of the most remarkable places being King Fahad’s Fountain which has a place in The Guinness Book of World Records for being the world’s highest fountain reaching up to 350 metres, Old City also known as Al-Balad – a perfect example of how Jeddah has maintained its rich culture since the 6th century and the Al Shalaal theme park – the biggest, most popular and children’s favourite destination in Saudi Arabia.
The rich cuisine of Jeddah has always attracted me to try the different dishes on offer. The natives of Saudi Arabia love meals which are not very spicy and contain carbohydrate foods like rice. The most famous dish of Jeddah is ‘Mandi’, which people usually have on special occasions.
It is a meal of meat, rice and a special spice blend, cooked in an underground pit. Some of the other popular dishes are Shorabah Hareira (a type of soup), Madhbi (chicken grilled on stone) and Falafel (cutlets made of chickpeas and beans).
Baklava (layered pastry dessert filled with chopped nuts and drizzled with honey) is the most popular dessert of Jeddah and I always end my meals with this delicious pastry.
Kunafa (a pancake soaked in sugar-syrup and lavered with cheese) and Basboosa (a syrup-soaked almond cake) are among the other loved desserts of the city.
Sometimes I also miss India’s culture and I try to remind myself of the same by having food at Indian restaurants here.
My favourite place to go to in my free time is the library since I love the calm and peace that I feel there. Since reading books is my hobby, I spend a lot of time there during vacations. I have seen my city flourish and change over the last decade but it has always remained the same in my heart.