The Wave

The Wave sits in the middle of a busy intersection in Jeddah.   I couldn’t capture the entire sculpture – it is larger than what you see. It is completely covered in mosaic tilework.   To give you an idea of the size, look at the center of the photo at the base of the large wave and you will see the outline of a door.   I guess repairmen can go inside the structure if need be.   Mustafa Senbel, an Egyptian designer, created The Wave for the city of Jeddah, as well as almost 30 other masterpieces, like The Fisherman’s Net and Dialogue, both of which I have featured in previous posts.

February Theme Day: Paths and Passages

City Daily Photo’s Theme Day for February is Paths and Passages… This may not look like much of a passageway, but it is. It is the entrance to a small shop.

The oldest souk in Jeddah is the Bab Makkah marketplace. It is crowded with shops and customers. Many shops are so tiny. Every available space is used. Sometimes there is a counter outside where the customer stands and points to what he wants and doesn’t enter the shop at all. Sometimes it is difficult to figure out how even the employees get in and out.

I was wondering myself until I saw this employee going into the tiny shop by climbing over boxes of products. It is the only way in or out of this shop.

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Businessman’s “Office”

This businessman’s office space consists of an old desk and a chair which sit out in the open air at the big outdoor fruit and vegetable market in Jeddah. He’s got a calculator, a pencil and some paperwork and not much more to keep track of his business dealings selling fresh vegetables. I would think many other small businesses here operate pretty much the same way.

Skywatch: Sunset and clouds

I loved the way this photo turned out, especially considering that it was shot from a moving car on the freeway. The sun was slowly setting and was halfway down through the clouds. I like the way the clouds are partially lit up and you can see the sun’s rays at the top of the photo.
To fly MORE friendly skies around the world, visit SKYWATCH.

Modern Supermarket

This enormous ultra-modern, ultra-clean supermarket just opened near our home in Jeddah about six months ago. The aisles are the widest I have ever seen in any market. The shelves are stocked with a wide variety and selection of products. The shiny tile floors are constantly swept and mopped by an overabundance of store employees, most of whom are foreign workers. We prefer to shop in the middle of the week earlier in the day when there are hardly any other shoppers. Overall, grocery prices are much cheaper here than in the states.

Large Spindle Piece: Henry Moore Sculpture

This abstract bronze sculpture by Henry Moore is called “Large Spindle Piece.” I think it deserves a more creative name than this, so I am asking you all to come up with some possible alternative names for it that have a bit more pizzazz. I read about this piece and it said that in some ways, “it is related to the “Helmet Heads” of the 1950s, which explore the theme of protection and intrusion.” The British sculptor was inspired as a youth by Michelangelo. Jeddah’s Corniche along the Red Sea boasts four abstract bronze works by Moore which are all prominent in the city’s large open air art museum.

My World: Milking a Camel

In my present world, on the outskirts of the city, there are crude barbed wire enclosures where camels are kept. The camels are tended to by foreign Sudanese workers.  Each camel corral houses several dozen camels of all shapes, sizes and colors.  So that there will be fresh camel milk available for customers, the mama camels are equipped with contraptions to keep the baby camels from nursing constantly. The juryrigged nursing bras are made of a canvas fabric and rope and are secured strategically around the nursing mama camel. Every time we have stopped for some fresh warm camel milk, the workers are happy to oblige, and they milk the camel right there on the spot.   It usually takes two men to accomplish the task since the beasts are so large.
If you are interested in seeing more photos of camels in Saudi Arabia and learning a bit more about them, please see some previous posts that I have done on the subject. Just click on the links below:
Baby Camel Nursing
Fresh and Frothy Camel Milk
Camels in Saudi Arabia
Camel in Natural Habitat
Camels and Tents

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Marble Sculpture

This is one of many solid white marble sculptures erected along the Corniche in Jeddah. The Corniche stretches for miles along the coastline and is a popular family destination for picnicking, skateboarding, kiting, or just relaxing and enjoying the beauty and serenity of the Red Sea. These marble creations were produced by a group of artists from Belgium.

The Fisherman’s Net

Mustafa Senbel was a classmate of Mohamed Said Farsi’s when both attended Alexandria University.  Later Farsi became Mayor of Jeddah and undertook an expansive program to develop, transform, and beautify the city, he called upon his old friend Senbel, who was well suited for the task. Senbel worked as a Jeddah town planner for almost a decade before he retired to Egypt. “The Fisherman’s Net” is one of about thirty remarkable sculptures fashioned by the talented Senbel. “What distinguished Senbel from the other artists who contributed to the beautification of Jeddah was his intense awareness of the relationship between mass and space and his sensitivity to their environmental context,” said Farsi of his old friend. Some of Senbel’s works were among the most unpretentious and economical sculptures produced for the city’s large public open air art museum. He worked in a wide variety of mediums, but perhaps his most treasured sculptures are several similar to this one.  With an open weave web-like construction, these pieces are all situated on the Corniche next to the Red Sea, enriching and enhancing the area with magnificent art, without obscuring sea or sky in the process.  One of them is featured in my blog header photo above and is called  “Dialogue.” You can see this sculpture in its entirety on a previous post I did.

The Eye

This imposing bronze sculpture called simply “The Eye” is one of Jeddah’s many striking public works of art. It was placed in the Al Hamra Open Air Museum along the famous Corniche next to the Red Sea, although initial plans had been to place it either next to the Maghrabi Eye Hospital or the local TV station. The French sculptor Cesar Baldaccini created this unusual masterpiece along with “The Fist,” which I showcased in an earlier post, and “The Thumb,” which unfortunately is part of a private collection and is not accessible to the public. Former Mayor of Jeddah, Mohamed Said Farsi, who was the brains and the vision behind the massive beautification project of the city back in the 1970s, said that Cesar was “a man who uses his skills and materials to express the spirit of an era in which beauty and ugliness are both found.”