I stayed in Jeddah for a week in 2006, and I loved it. The visit was to meet friends and fellow bloggers and also to see the city for the first time as I never been there before. I had a blast, and I’ve been seriously thinking about moving to Jeddah after I finish school here in Riyadh.
I will visit Jeddah again this week for a few days to participate in a conference. I was invited by Effat College to speak about blogging in the Kingdom at the 6th Annual Learning and Technology Symposium that will be held on April 26-27. As always, I’m lucky to have the company of great people who will share the stage with me. This time I’m honored to be joined by fellow blogger Hadeel al-Hodaif and videoblogger Baba Ali.
However, it saddens me that I won’t be able to see my friend Fouad when I visit his hometown. Last time I was there he took me to his favorite places in town and we had a lot of fun. I received the invitation and agreed to participate just a few days before he was arrested.
During the last few weeks I was hoping that he would be released before I come to Jeddah but unfortunately not much has happened since then. I thought about withdrawing because it will be painful for me to visit Jeddah again knowing I won’t see him, but then I decided it was better to go and talk about his case instead of staying home.
It is too late for you to register for the conference now, but if you happen to be a lady then you might be interested in another event hosted by Effat College this week. Head Over Heels in Saudi Arabia is a play that touches topics concerning Saudi women and addresses many questions raised about them. The performance is open for ladies only, and the ticket price is SR 100. For more information, please call 0530899829 or 026364300 ext. 1316 or ext. 5001. (Hat tip to fellow Jeddawiah blogger Glow!)
Finally, I leave you with the unofficial soundtrack for my trip: Jeddah (My Hometown City) ’02 by Qusai aka Don Legend the Kamelion. Trust me, you want to give this song a listen!
Saudi Jeans 
I think its so fun because we can go to the place where our friends live. And my dream is I hope I can go to Mecca. I want to see many things about Islam history. But, I don’t know when I can go there?
Ouh ya, in my country, we have many beautiful place. You can see Borobudur Temple, Kubah Emas Mosque and you can enjoy Kampung Sampireun when you bored with your activity. You can spent your time with fresh air around you, many trees, beautiful lack, and the rainbow.
Glad to see you still blogging Jeans, I used to catch a few links through the old Muttawa blog. I wonder if I would know Jidda now – it is over 25 years since I worked there for Saudia. Now in Beijing – from the Magic Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom!
woohoo!!! as I am not a Saudi, but a Pakistani, I still consider Jeddah my hometown! I prefer it over all the other cities I’ve lived in! I absolutely love Jeddah! Go Jeddah Go!
good luck ahmed, i hope you have a great time!!
LOL! Great soundtrack!!!
Jeddah seems so much more fun from what I’ve been reading!
They can’t incarcerate Foud forever?
I hope you’re going to have lots of fun inspite of the painful thoughts and give a good speach!
It is gr8 to c that some1 like Effat college are recognizing the blogosphere the way they r doing it. I didnt knw that they had something like this [its the 6th aint it?]. They indeed have great bloggers participating and it is sad to see Foaud AL-Farhan still behind bars
hmmm jeddah has its soundtrack :D
Have a fantastic time. Out of curiousity, is it dangerous for you to participate in such a public forum?
hi i’m a non-muslim from singapore. i recently came across your blog and i like what i read so far. keep it up!
Gila, I’m already out in the public and I have participated in similar forums in the past.
fantastic music ,,
Ahmed, the mere thought of Fouad being arrested is enough to make my body shiver when Jeddah is mentioned although I adore the city or used to! I dunno what’s going on with me, you see, I don’t know Fouad personally but I’m an avid reader of his blog, BUT I still feel the city is longing to have him back, the beach and the waves calls out his name… Ahmed, for people like Fouad, I guess we need the presence of people like you to be there and speak up.. thank you brother
Speaking for my fellow Jeddawis; welcome to Jeddah, Ahmad! Hope you have fun while you’re here :)