Balad is Jeddah’s old city and is a fascinating place to wander, which we did for quite a few hours on two different days. The historic buildings in Balad used to be beautiful, but unfortunately much of the district has fallen into disrepair and deterioration, and a lot of old houses have either been pulled down to make way for new construction, or have fallen down (a building collapsed the week we were going to Jeddah). According to Wiki (below), a preservation society has been established and there have been municipal efforts to restore the area, but clearly much more needs to be done before the city loses its historical heritage.

Despite the condition of the buildings, Balad is a thriving and fascinating place, packed with people frequenting the several large souks. I’m sure we missed a lot (there is no map and no information suggesting where to go) and will look forward to investigating the district further on our next trip to Jeddah.

“Al-Balad is the [historic] area of Jeddah, the second largest city of Saudi Arabia. Balad can literally be translated as ‘The City.’ Al-Balad was founded in the 7th century and historically served as the centre of Jeddah. Al-Balad's defensive walls were torn down in the 1940s. In the 1970s and 1980s, when Jeddah began to become wealthier due to the oil boom, many Jeddawis moved north, away from Al-Balad, as it reminded them of less prosperous times. Al-Balad had insufficient parking space for large cars. Its stores did not sell expensive designer clothing. Poor immigrants moved in place of the Saudi population. The municipality of Jeddah began [historic] preservation efforts in the 1970s. In 1991 the Municipality of Jeddah founded the Jeddah Historical Preservation Society to preserve the historical architecture and culture of Al-Balad. In 2002 $4 million [was] earmarked for the preservation society.” (Wikipedia)

UPDATE: Balad was recently inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage.