Wow! What a day. This morning after Tim went to work I headed over to the Women's Center around 8:30 to go with a group of women from our compound to the British Women's Breakfast. They meet once a month for a breakfast in a fancy hotel here in Jeddah. Breakfast is buffet style with wonderful selections and you sit at a table 9 to 10 women. Around the perimeter of the room there are local vendors displaying their wares so you get a chance to shop, any excuse, Ha! After a time of shopping and visiting and eating a featured speaker gives an informative presentation. The speaker today was speaking on her pet project of the conservation of elephants and rhinos in Kenya, where she had grown up. She had music and slides and she gave a very informative presentation. Then there was a door prize drawing and a raffle with more time afterwards to visit a bit more and shop a bit more. Fun for all.
      When I returned home I was met by the bug sprayers and had to vacate our home for 3 hours. I went for a short walk on compound and then spent time at the computer lab in the recreational building here on compound. Tim met me there when he arrived home from work and we walked over to picked up some old grills from maintenance for the barbeque grill on our patio.
      We received a phone call from the movers and they delivered our stuff from the states to us tonight at around 4:30. Our neighbor Shawn brought over grilled chicken as a house warming gift but we had to put it in the refrigerator for tomorrow night as we were both refraining from eating much because this was the evening Steve and Rosita took us out to my sponsor dinner at the Marriot Hotel. It was an all you could eat seafood buffet and it was awesome. We enjoy Steve and Rosita's company so very much. They have lived in Jeddah off and on for several years and love the city and its people. They know everyone and and everyplace...REALLY!!!! :)
      On our drive to dinner we passed interesting sites, shopping areas and enjoyed stories. Here are pictures of a couple of statues we passed en route to dinner.

The big bicycle

The Cosmos Sculpture referred to by locals as the Fallopian Tube Sculpture, go figure... lol

At the Marriot we wandered the lobby sipping coffee and enjoying the sites of grandeur and..... we shopped a bit in the hotel gift shops. :)  Then we dined on a wonderful selection of seafood and mouthwatering morsels..... We enjoyed laughter..... stories.... good company.....and good food.... now that was a recipe for a delightful evening.
We drove back through the crowded, neon lit, death defying, thrill ride equivalent streets of Jeddah to the compound. I must admit it is a bit like riding the scariest rollercoaster ride you can ever imagine except the danger is multiplied X 100.  It is very exciting and I want to just yell out...."Wheeee!!!!!" Quite a rush!!!! Who needs to bungee jump or sky dive if you can drive through the streets of Jeddah at night! Just try to dive through a roundabout that has no rules with horns blaring and a mass of cars inches from each other fighting for position..... quite a thrill. Well we are safe at home now and yet we have again been blessed with another Great Adventure Episode to remember.... Big Smile!!!!!

Starting my third week in Jeddah today. Thursday and Friday are the weekends here. Tim and I spent Thursday shopping for a new entertainment center to use here in Jeddah. Tim took me up to the Jeddah International Mall. It was interesting and had some music stores in it..... but we ended up getting the best deal in a newer mall close to us, at a large Panda Store.... think Super Walmart when you think Panda Store..... While we were driving over the city we detoured by the IKEA store. It was not open when we went by, it was too early in the morning, around 9AM. The stores seem to open around 10AM.

IKEA store in Saudi Arabia

I also took a picture inside of the Danube Store in the Red Sea Mall.... I would compare it to the Target Superstore....We bought some yummy fresh baked bread here to munch on while we shopped.

This area had pickled veggies and cheese and olives and.... 

They had islands of fresh baked goods, produce, sea food, grains,... and then isles of products much like our Super Targets are. They sell electronics, clothing, kitchen wares....you get the picture. Maybe a bit fancier than the Panda Store, but still good deals to be had.

On Friday, the second day of our weekend, Tim played in a horseshoe tournament here on compound against the British compound team. I will post some photos of the event on my blog.

Hand shakes before the tournament

Coach "Saint Jude" giving the teams the rules of play

 

Tim before the American vs. Brits Horseshoe Tournament

Tim petting one of the friendlier compound kitties

Tim competing against Henry, the Brits Ringer.....

Final match with top players....

The Brits won this one.... or......Henry won.... hmmm .... again Tim mentions this in his blog http://wyolincoln.blogspot.com/  check out Tim's version of the tournament. :) Enjoy!

We enjoyed the themed dinner, Saudi Arabia Night, given poolside on the compound last night. We were served schwarma, fries and chocolate cake. They also had an area for smoking shisha, a flavored tobacco smoked communally from a tall glass pipe. There are many smokers here on compound, so this was a favorite activity. Tim and I preferred to stuff ourselves on schwarma, fries and chocolate cake. Yum!!!

pool on compound at night

shisha smoking area to the right

area outside cafe by the pool

hmmm where are we?

Note the residences above the market

I went on the Wednesday Women's shopping trip to Al-Balad Market area in old downtown Jeddah. Al-Balad is the historic center of Jeddah and can literally be translated as “The City”. Balad traces its history 2,500 years back as a fishing village when the Quda’a (Arabic: قضاعة) fishermen tribe settled there.Here are a few pictures I took today.

Look at the green wood work on the buildings

 A lot of the old building in this area are made of corral. The wood on the outside is quite dense and the condensation on the wood acts like an air conditioner cooling the inside of the structure as the air passes through the louvers into the interior of the building. The markets are then found on the lower level of these buildings.

The old being torn down making way for the new.... history only kept in pictures

There were old shallow steps used by the early travelers and their mules and camels carrying their loads. A lot of history in this area. Jeddah was a walled city with three gates allowing entrance to the city. These old structures are falling into disrepair and being torn down to make way for new shiny buildings..... Oil money changes a culture.

Josh, I took this one for your benefit...Enjoy!

Tim in Ferrari Store

Another shot to be sure I got it

Tim and I went mall walking at the Red Sea Mall in Jeddah tonight..... looks like a nice mall.... like you would see anywhere except there are a lot of women in black and men walking around in white robes.... :). I took a couple of pictures of Tim in the Ferrari store at the mall....

Tim surfing the net in our downstairs living area...

While I was posting pictures of Tim, I thought I would throw this one in..... Here is Tim on a typical afternoon, surfing the net in our living area downstairs in Jeddah. I will go with the ladies to Al Ballad tomorrow... it is and old section of Jeddah.... I will let you all know how it goes.

International Medical Center

Lobby chandelier in IMC

Out front of the International Medical Center

Look Rebecca, we drove by these Kettle Sculptures which are close to the Red Sea

This house was started over 10 years ago and never finished, locals refer to it as the diamond house

Our friends call this the lasagna sculpture, hmmm wonder why

These were all sites we saw on Thursday on our way to an old part of Jeddah where we wandered around the Afghan Market place. The Afghan Market is just one of many shopping areas to be found in Jeddah.

produce stand in Afghan Market

beans and stuff in Afghan market

spices in Afghan Market

Tim with his new cap in front of Persian Rug store... Rug clerk standing in front of store also

Tim, Steve, and Rosita in the Afghan Souq