Jeddah Corniche:
A Cultural Landmark

A 15-minute drive from the King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAAIA) can take a visitor to the Jeddah beach, which provides a lively place full of children on camels, ponies, and 4-wheelers. There’s plenty of art and activity to appeal to everyone. Moreover, the city of Jeddah itself is very beautiful. In fact, the city is nicknamed as “Arus Al-Bahr Al-Ahmer” in Arabic, which means “bride of the Red Sea”. The city borders the Red Sea from the west and the Al-Sarawat mountains from the east.
Jeddah is the principal land route to enter the holy city of Makkah, Islam’s holiest city, which able-bodied Muslims are required to visit at least once in their lifetime. Tourists, who are looking for some of the best Jeddah sights to visit, will never be disappointed. The Jeddah main corniche is located on the western part of the city and it stretches for almost 100 kilometers along the Red Sea coastline.
The corniche is a major tourist attraction, where Saudis and expatriates flock in the evening in great numbers. The elegance of the Red Sea coast and the beauty of the corniche make it one of the best places to spend your holidays in Jeddah. From the corniche, you also have a superb view over the Red Sea, and you can enjoy the beautiful lights of the city.
Every day after the sunset, the corniche springs into life with a lot of Saudi families enjoying themselves. They play sports on the beach or enjoy a dinner at one of the picnic sites. They spend time together, enjoying the beauty of the city and the corniche.
It’s also possible to hire jet skis and enjoy sailboat races. There are numerous beach games and dolphin shows besides sports for children to play. In fact, there is plenty of parking, and public sitting areas that welcome beach visitors, taking the form of boats anchored at the beach and built with water and weather resistant concrete. A boat ride down the corniche in the late afternoon is highly recommended as a pacific way to view the city.
A walk along the Jeddah corniche, especially in the night, is an ideal way to get a view of the Red Sea. Also referred to as an “underwater tropical forest,” the Red Sea has spectacular marine life and exquisite coral reefs. This makes it an ideal place for scuba diving for tourists who are looking for something a little more exciting than just sitting on a beach.
If you walk down a little more along the beach, you will come across an amazing ‘Floating Mosque’ in the sea. This is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the city of Jeddah. Located right next to the Red Sea, the structure gives visitors the impression that it is floating in water when the tide is high. The exterior is a brilliant white, and its interior is decorated beautifully.
The floating mosque is not just a popular tourist attraction, but also one of the most marvelous and sacred destinations in Jeddah. The mosque is called Fatimah Al-Zahra mosque, and is equipped with modern facilities like sound systems and hot showers for the winter season.
Another fascinating place is Atallah Happy Land Park, with rides for adults and children. It is an amusement park with indoor and outdoor rides and attractions, ice-skating and bowling, dining and shopping, and a 6D theater. Next on the list of any Jeddah visitor should be the world famous fountain— the tallest in the world —that was a gift from the late King Fahd.
The 312-meter high fountain is located near the coast of Jeddah and can be seen from all over the city. When the water ejects to the top, it is higher than even the Eiffel Tower. The view of the fountain is very fascinating children and adults alike. They stay long hours on the Jeddah cornice just to see the sprinkling waters rushing like a rocket from the bowel of the sea to the sky.
Among several mosques located along the coastal areas of Jeddah city, Hassan Enany Mosque is another very prominent mosque. It is in the central cornice of the city, near Palestine Street. It was built in 1984 by the architect Raouf Helmi and commissioned by Hassan Enany. It has a capacity of 1,200 worshippers in an unusual prayer hall covered by an octagonal golden dome.
Also on the corniche is an open art gallery with a wide collection of sculptures and modern artworks that attract the tourists. There are a lot of different designs, themes and materials of sculptures displayed, but they are all inspired by the Arabian culture. Various international stars and local artists have made the works. The magnificent sculptures can be enjoyed all throughout the day, but also during the night when they are lighted with spots.
The boardwalk is also lined with an open exhibition of monuments and sculptures by internationally famous sculptors and artists like Varselli, Henry Moore, and the French artist Ceasar, as well as a number of Saudi artists. The adopted design of the corniche adds an artistic touch all along by placing sculptures and other artwork at roundabouts and on streets running alongside the corniche. Most sculptures and artworks can be found along the northern and central parts of the corniche. But, the Jeddah corniche will look more beautiful with several ongoing beautification projects of the Jeddah Municipality, which is also continuing with its work on Dhahban Marine Park Project. The park is expected to be ready at the end of this year. The project is one of the most important entertainment projects implemented by Jeddah Municipality and aims to provide visitors with a large marine park.
The park will include all facilities and services such as restaurants, water coolers, play areas, sports areas, seating areas and green fields, in addition to fishing areas. The Dhahban marine park is located on the open sea in an area of 110,000 square meters, and is just 40 km from central Jeddah. The park has a football field of 1,500 square meters, and 45,000 meters of green areas.
It has 600 trees, 4,500 saplings, 40 Nerjeel palm trees, 220 local palm trees and 250 cacti. The municipality will provide the park with 63 children’s and sports games, canopies with a space of 280 square meters; canopies for children’s play areas, concrete canopies in addition to 16 wooden canopies and 391 light poles. This will change the face of corniche area, which is still specked with shops, restaurants and hotels. The corniche has emerged as the major tourism and economic landmark of Jeddah and no trip to Jeddah is complete without at least a short trip to the corniche.
The corniche is one of the city’s most impressive and pleasing features. Jeddah has been a port and trading city for centuries, which is reflected in its cosmopolitan mix of inhabitants. Today, it is the major commercial center of Saudi Arabia. It also has many government offices. Jeddah is known in the kingdom for its shopping districts, restaurants and cafes. It is also the main entry point, either by air or sea, for pilgrims making the Haj pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Medinah.