Jeddah on the Red Sea
“Jeddah is different” – indeed, even the geography of the region offers a change from the seemingly endless desert of Saudi Arabia. Jeddah, the “Bride of the Red Sea,” as it is also known, lies on roughly the same latitude as Honolulu and Hong Kong.
It is the largest city in Mecca Province, which has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea. This coastline, known as the Tihāmah, extends from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb (a strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, Djibouti and Eritrea on the Horn of Africa; it connects the Red Sea to the Gulf).
Hejaz
Running parallel to the Tihāmah, the Sarawat Mountains rise east of Jeddah. This mountainous region is called Hejaz (hiːˈdʒæz, Arabic: ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz), meaning “the barrier.” It describes a region in the west of the kingdom, bordering Jordan to the north and the Asir region to the south. To the east of the Hejaz is joined by the vast area of the Najd.
The main cities of the Mecca province are Makkah (Mecca), Jeddah, Ta’if and Yanbu (north of Jeddah). The area of the Mecca region is estimated at 140,100 km², which is about 6% of the total area of the Kingdom. It is administratively divided into the capital and other governorates, including: Jeddah. The region has a special importance, not least because of its capital Mecca, the Holy City of Islam, where the Holy Mosque and the Ka’bah are located.
Jeddah’s strategic location on the Red Sea makes it a very important city for the kingdom’s international trade. Services and trade are developing rapidly, as is the industrial boom that makes it an important business center.
