AA--Jeddah (1.31.26)

On January 31, 2026, we arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  It was a thrill to simply be in that huge, controversial, recently isolated country.  Jeddah is a sprawling, modern commercial city, with large law firms and banks and brokers.  However, we concentrated, during our day, on the historic section, getting a feel for what Saudi Arabia was like before it was drowned in oil.

We visited Al Tayebat International City, an eclectic museum featuring historical objects in a reconstructed old Jeddah-style building.  The objects in front of the building are scale models of historical buildings throughout Saudi Arabia.

 

I especially enjoyed the rooms displaying the local way of life in different Arab tribes.  The clothes and art were vibrant.

I was amazed at some of the most extreme outfits that obscured women's faces and bodies.

The wealthy man who put together the museum collection held an art competition, and bought many of the paintings to display.  I particularly liked this painting, comparing traditional and modern Saudi women.

We visited the beautiful "floating mosque", built into the Jeddah bay, and we checked out the yachts and raceways nearby.

We paused for lunch at the Red Sea Mall, one of the largest, most luxurious malls I have ever seen.  Brands like Gucci, Dior, and Armani had their stores, but so did real or knock-off MacDonalds and Baskin Robbins.

Abiya stores fascinate me.  I thought of all black abiyas as being alike, but in a store like this one, I could see the dozens of varieties on a black coverall.

We spent the afternoon in Jeddah's Old City, after entering through a gate in the old city wall.

The city has committed to repairing and renovating hundreds of the old buildings in the Old City.  I asked, rather callously, if that was an initiative to create more opportunities for tourism, and our local guide quickly corrected me:  "It's to protect our heritage."

As day stretched into evening, I enjoyed just wandering the streets of the Old City, feeling the energy of the city people who also enjoyed this special place.

AA--Salalah (1.29.26)

The Queen of Sheba reputedly came from either southern Oman or its neighbor, Yemen.  On January 29, 2026, we visited Salalah, in southern Oman, which is where the Queen of Sheba may have ruled.  In any event, as our local guide said, "She shipped her frankincense from here."  . 
 

We visited an archeological museum, where experts try to learn more about the early days of Oman.

We also visited the sprawling old fort, guarding the ancient port from which frankincense made its way as far as Europe and India.

We never saw an actual frankincense bush, but we saw this photo over and over, documenting what the bushes look like.  The trees are slit in places and the dried sap that oozes out is collected, dried, and sold worldwide.

 

Camels ran free in the area next to the fort, but near the sea.

We drove to a viewpoint where we could see waves, and an occasional boat, plying this part of the Indian Ocean.

We stopped next to a camel herd grazing in a dry field.  The camels were as curious about us as we were about them.

We ate lunch at a park and were entertained by this friendly little antelope, maybe a desert oryx.