My Favorite City

By:Barakat Alkenani

     Jeddah name the city . located on the Red Sea Coast in the West of Saudi Arabia. It has the second largest percentage of population in Saudi Arabia. "The urban population in Jeddah has grown rapidly from 1970 to 2002 to an estimated population of 2,560,000 at average annual growth rates of 12.43% in 1970 and 11.05% in 2000. Moreover, Jeddah plays the most significant role in Saudi Arabia's economy. It is also considered as the main gateway to the two holy mosques for Muslim people who are arriving to Jeddah airport or Jeddah seaport going to Makah and Al-Madina. Jeddah has been changed over the last fifty years. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast between Jeddah now and fifty years ago. The main three differences are: education, housing and men's clothing.

Firstly, the most notable difference between Jeddah now and fifty years ago is education. People in Jeddah have become more educated and that is a reflection of the government which has been improving the facilities and the system for its people. It has been building a number of schools, universities and professional learning centres and students are studying in modern classrooms with technological equipment. For example, with regard to electronic textbooks, Al- Shemary (2007) stated:
Electronic textbooks will enable Saudi students to have a digital version of the curriculum, something which they may access in computer laboratories on the school premises and in their homes. Students may read, browse, research, and copy and paste material into different applications.
While in the past there were not any kinds of teaching places, and people were taught in small groups with very basic equipment . Moreover, schools had just Saudi Arabian teachers fifty years ago. By contrast, the government has relied on international teachers to give Saudi teachers experience in teaching.

By comparing Jeddah now and fifty years ago, another difference can be noticed, which is housing. Nowadays, Jeddah is much more modern than in the past. It has got a lot of landmarks and many numbers of modern malls such as the Red Sea Mall Centre which is considered as the biggest mall centre in the middle east. The architecture has changed; most buildings have become multi-stories and they are mainly made of concrete and cement . Modern districts are being lived in by high class people, providing more facilities like car parking and big gardens in each villa and swimming pools as well. However, old people prefer living in historical and old districts or buildings which remind them about their childhood when houses were small and attached to each other. The houses were built in a simple shape and made of primitive materials such as wood and palm fronds.
Finally, clothing and fashion in Jeddah has varied and modified in the present age. Nowadays, Jeddah has two kinds of people: the first kind prefers wearing the traditional clothes which consist of 'thoop', 'ghutra' and 'taqia'. Sandeen (2010) stated that Saudi people typically like a cultural dress named a 'thoop' which covers the whole body and is a flowing robe-type garment normally white or light coloured in summer time and darker coloured in winter time. Most Saudi Arabian people put on a 'thoop' despite their profession or reputation. People feel comfortable when they are wearing these. However, the majority of people are more stylish and they are more interested in fashion than in other cities of Saudi Arabia. They love wearing jeans and T-shirts. Young people are competing with each other in the best style and by buying the newest brand clothes.

In conclusion, Jeddah has totally changed and improved since 1960 in different aspects. The education system has been changed by the government's role in improving the quality of teaching and increasing the number of schools. In addition, Jeddah is looking much more beautiful than fifty years ago with the biggest malls in the middle east whilst maintaining its historical areas. Moreover, some people in Jeddah keep wearing the traditional clothes which their fathers and grandfathers were wearing, but some people are more interested in fashion and high quality clothes.