Jeddah
Jeddah (also spelled Jedda, Jiddah, Jidda, or Juddah; جدّة Ǧiddah) is a Saudi Arabian city. It is on the coast of the Red Sea (21.50° N 39.1667° E). It is the major urban center in western Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is the largest city in the Western Province, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city Riyadh. The city has over 3.4 million people. It is seen as the business capital of Saudi Arabia and the richest city in the Middle East and western Asia.
جدّة Jidda | |
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City | |
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Coordinates: 21°32′36″N 39°10′22″E / 21.54333°N 39.17278°ECoordinates: 21°32′36″N 39°10′22″E / 21.54333°N 39.17278°E | |
Country | Saudi Arabia |
Province | Makkah (Mecca) |
Established | From the 6th century BC |
Joined Saudi Arabia | 1925 |
Government | |
• City Mayor | Hani Abu Ras[1] |
• Governorate Mayor | Saleh Al-Turki[2] |
Area | |
• City | 1,570 km2 (610 sq mi) |
• Urban | 1,686 km2 (651 sq mi) |
• Metro | 3,000 km2 (1,000 sq mi) |
Elevation | 12 m (39 ft) |
Population (2012) | |
• City | 5,112,018 |
• Density | 2,921/km2 (1,826/sq mi) |
• Urban | 3,855,912 |
• Metro | 5,318,636 |
Jeddah City estimate | |
Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EAT) |
Postal Code | (5 digits) |
Website | Jeddah Municipality |
Jeddah is the main gateway to Mecca, the holiest city of Islam, where able-bodied Muslims must go to at least once in a lifetime.
Sister cities
Jeddah has 23 sister cities (aka "twin towns"):
- Almaty, Kazakhstan
- Amman, Jordan
- Baku, Azerbaijan
- Alexandria, Egypt
- Cairo, Egypt
- Stuttgart, Germany
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Adana, Turkey
- Johor Bahru, Malaysia
- Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia
- Karachi, Pakistan
- Mari, Turkmenistan
- Odessa, Ukraine
- Osh, Kyrgyzstan
- Plovdiv, Bulgaria
- Casablanca, Morocco
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Shimonoseki, Japan
- St. Petersburg, Russia
- Strasbourg, France
- Xi'an, People's Republic of China
Jeddah Media
Tabula Rogeriana, a reproduction of one of the most advanced early world maps, by Muhammad al-Idrisi produced in 1154 shows the location of Jeddah. This is a south-up map orientation.
Mohammed Abu Zenada, one of the Chiefs of Jeddah and the advisor to the Sharif during the surrender to King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud in 1925
King Abdulaziz sitting with Abdullah Ali Reda on the day he entered Jeddah in 1925
Mall of Arabia is the largest shopping mall in Jeddah.
References
- ↑ "Abu Ras promises new Jeddah". Saudigazette.com.sa. 2010-08-19. Archived from the original on 2014-12-14. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ↑ "Saleh Al-Turki, mayor of Jeddah". arabnews.com. Saudi Research & Publishing Company. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2021.