Jeddah

Jeddah ( also Jidda, Jedda, Jiddah, Djeddeh, Jeddah, Arabic جدة, DMG Gidda; engl transcription. Jeddah, Jeddah ) is the most important port city in Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea and is located in the province of Mecca.

Facts and Figures

In the 2004 census, Jeddah had 2,801,481 inhabitants, in 2007 there were already 3,002,839. Jeddah is on the Red Sea and is the gateway to Mecca, the religious center of Islam, which is about 72 km to the east located inland. Every year comes to a huge influx of pilgrims in Jeddah, mainly across the Red Sea from Africa, and by plane from Indonesia and Pakistan. Unlike in Mecca always visitors of all religions are welcome in Jeddah. In the local population, there are many Africans, Persians, Turks, Yemenis and Indians. Most work in the petroleum industry. Significant export goods except petroleum, there are not many goods are imported to supply the pilgrimage.

History

Jeddah to have been founded about 2500 years ago by a Yemeni tribe. Located behind a coral reef natural bay offered a favorable base for fishermen. In 647, Caliph Uthman ibn Affan chose Jeddah as the site of the port of Mecca. For construction projects in the Holy City, the building materials were usually introduced via Jeddah from abroad, for example in expanding the Holy Mosque in the year 777, when the Abbasid Caliph al -Mahdi marble blocks from Syria left on ships bring to Jeddah, then to Cart were transported to Mecca. In addition, the city was focal point for Muslim pilgrims from all over the world. In the 15th century Circassian Mamluk fortified the city with a stone wall. Equipped with three main gates Wall was to protect Jeddah from attacks by the Portuguese.

From 1517 until the early 20th century, Jeddah has been managed by the Ottoman Empire and was part of the independent Hejaz. During this time she received the nickname " Bilad al Kanasil " (City of consulates ), allowing numerous official agencies were entertained. 1916, the city was conquered by the British, which could provide the city walls with a fourth goal for the automobile traffic. In 1925 the Hejaz under the rule of Ibn Saud, the founder of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition to Mecca and Medina, so also fell in Jeddah Ibn Saud's sphere of influence.

By 1947, the city was surrounded by the Mamluk city wall from the 16th century. The oil wealth brought expansion of the city and its seaport with it. The city wall was therefore largely torn down and built a desalination plant for seawater in the 1970s.

For the name of " Jeddah " There are two explanations: After the first Jeddah simply means " seashore ", as the city lies on the coast. Some, however, say the name " Dschadda " from, which means " grandmother ", because in the Islamic tradition is located in the city the grave of Eva. The alleged tomb was covered with concrete in 1975, as Muslim pilgrims prayed there to Eve, which is a serious violation of the strict Saudi interpretation of monotheistic faith principle of Islam.

Became famous for the city through the agreement of Jeddah. The first agreement ended the British rule in Arabia, the second determined the southern borders of Saudi Arabia.

In November 2009 and January 2011 there were heavy floods in the city ( see floods in Jeddah 2009).

Structures

In Jeddah is the highest TV tower in the country, the 250 -meter high TV Tower Jeddah, and the Haj Terminal roof, with 40.5 hectares of total area, the largest roof structure in the world. Even with up to 312m height King Fahd's Fountain is to be mentioned. She is currently the highest fountain in the world. The First Hospital of SGD - chain ( cf. Engl. Saudi German Hospital ) with a construction cost of 120 million U.S. dollars and 217 beds was completed in 1988 after the design of architect Nicholas Rosiny. Prince al -Waleed ibn Talal Al Saud announced on August 2, 2011, a multi-billion dollar contract for the construction of more than 1000 meters high Kingdom Tower near Jeddah had been signed with the Bin Laden Group. The sum of the contract amounts to over 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Sports

  • Al -Ittihad
  • Al -Ahli
  • Rabi'a ar - Jeddah

Twinning

  • Kazakhstan Almaty, Kazakhstan
  • Jordan Amman, Jordan
  • Azerbaijan Baku, Azerbaijan
  • Egypt Alexandria, Egypt
  • Egypt Cairo, Egypt
  • United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • Indonesia Jakarta, Indonesia
  • Turkey Istanbul, Turkey
  • Turkey Adana, Turkey
  • China Republic Taipei, Taiwan
  • Malaysia Johor Bahru, Malaysia
  • Russia Kazan, Russia
  • Pakistan Karachi, Pakistan
  • Turkmenistan Mary, Turkmenistan
  • Ukraine Odessa, Ukraine
  • Kyrgyzstan Osh, Kyrgyzstan
  • Bulgaria Plovdiv, Bulgaria
  • Morocco Casablanca, Morocco
  • Tunisia Tunis, Tunisia
  • Brazil Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Japan Shimonoseki, Japan
  • Russia St. Petersburg, Russia
  • France Strasbourg, France
  • People's Republic of China Xi'an, People's Republic of China

Air table

Gallery

King Saud Mosque

One of the gates of Jeddah

Nassif House

Seat of the Islamic Development Bank

Seaport

Sons and daughters of the town

  • Abbas I, viceroy of Egypt
  • Majid Mohammed Abdullah, Saudi Arabian football player
  • Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, Saudi- Austrian companies
  • Mazin, Saudi Arabian football player
  • Rafael Czichos, German football player
DIN 31635 Transcription (linguistics) Al-Mahdi Treaty of Jeddah Jeddah TV Tower Mary (Turkmenistan) Corniche Majed Abdullah
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