Jeddah is one of the best tourist destinations to visit in Saudi Arabia, especially if you prefer to spend time on the quiet beaches and enjoy shopping trips, but what many may not know is that Jeddah also has a lot to offer museum goers who love culture and history as Jeddah prides itself on being home to an impressive collection of museums that includes many Islamic artifacts, ancient artworks and other interesting exhibits
Abdul Raouf Khalil Museum
This museum one of the most famous museums that exist in Jeddah, and this museum located in one of the vibrant vital areas of Jeddah, as it located near King Fahd Hospital as well as the Sayyid Al-Shuhada Mosque, and this museum opened in 1996.
This museum characterized by its simple designs, and this museum contains many artifacts and artifacts, which belong to many different civilizations, including Chinese, European, various Islamic civilizations, and other multiple civilizations, and the museum also includes among its folds a lot of dazzling models of animals, in addition to models of people of their real size.
In addition to containing many precious collectibles, the museum divided into several sections or main buildings, namely the mosque, as well as the House of Islamic Heritage, in addition to the House of Arab Heritage, along with the World Heritage House and finally the General Heritage Gallery, in addition to many other buildings, and this museum includes about 18 halls to display various antiques, the most important of which are King Abdul Aziz Hall, Hall of Minerals, Stones and others.
Khuzam Palace
It is one of the most prestigious museums in Jeddah where its foundation dates back more than 80 years, and the museum includes a valuable collection of artifacts along with a collection of personal belongings of King Abdul Aziz, and a collection of Islamic artifacts dating back to the era of the first Islamic caliph Abu Bakral-Siddiq Abou Bakr Al-Siddi.
Nassif House Museum
Located in the heart of an archaeological palace that transformed into a heritage museum, the museum houses an impressive collection of archaeological tools, including historical kitchen utensils, pottery artefacts, and antique photographs from a past era, in addition to that the museum building has a long history as it is one of the former houses of King Abdul Aziz, and the building also characterized by its attractive architectural design that includes intricate sculptures and elegant façade.
The palace has several characteristics, the most important of which: the exterior facades of the building made of wood, represented by doors, windows and rawashin, where they worked in a harmonious way, and tasted with decorations, and characterized by pointed contracts, and the bathroom room with a circular dome, and the building built of square stones brought from the sea, where it smoothed with mortar to be a powerful architectural landmark.
Museum of Home Arts in Jeddah
The Museum of Home Arts in Jeddah one of the most important and best museums in Jeddah, and this museum considered one of the most important tourist attractions that attract many visitors to it, and this museum considered one of the unique museums, as it specializes in displaying home arts, and working on creativity in the coordination of colors and various collectibles inside the house, and this museum considered one of the most important tourist attractions because it shows visitors how to work on arranging their homes, palaces and villas.
Besides the fact that this museum includes among its sides many precious art artifacts, which date back more than seventy years ago, and this museum unique in displaying a complete integrated picture of the way houses established magnificently and working to take into account the taste in interior designs in line with the culture of each society, it displays a range of different designs that suit the different Arab as well as foreign countries.
It also contains many different sculptures that illustrate the features of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and includes among its sides the first cladding of the Kaaba in addition to various works of art and frescoes.
Jeddah Museum of Sculptures
It is an open-air museum with 20 wonderful art sculptures by artists such asJoan MiróandHenry MooreThese sculptures date back to the seventies era which saw Jeddah invest strongly in the arts sector, all the pieces and sculptures displayed in the museum represent part of Jeddah’s heritage and culture, and among the most prominent pieces on display in the museum is an art sculpture by Maha Malluh, named Abraj Towers. , and used in its manufacture aluminum utensils obtained from flea markets in Saudi Arabia.
This collection one of the largest collections of models and models in the whole world, and the twenty works displayed in the open museum on an area of 7 kilometers, and this space a beautiful garden known as Al-Hamra, and specialists working on the development and modernization of the museum constantly and work to provide it with various holdings through the restoration of the remaining models, and work to use new models as well, so this museum considered one of the most important and best museums in Jeddah.
Al Tayebat City Museum
It one of the privately owned museums and occupies four floors dedicated to the display of Islamic and Saudi artifacts, and the exhibits in the museum include historical Islamic manuscripts, ancient coins and historical weapons along with an impressive collection of beautiful antique furniture, pottery and traditional Saudi clothing, all exhibits equipped with information panels, and the museum provides a service to organize special tours of the museum by reservation.
Municipal House Museum
The building housing the Museum of the Country Country built in the early twentieth century, and used as the headquarters of the British Legion until the mid-thirties. It restored and converted into a museum by Jeddah City Municipality several years ago, and now houses a variety of artifacts including handicrafts and handtools from Islamic and Islamic eras. The museum is located in Jeddah’s Al-Balad district. The country is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.
Its history dates back to the 7th century and with historical buildings and antique charm, not much has changed since then. Most of the sidewalks, roads, and buildings (including those that house this museum) built in the country centuries ago, and the city’s distinctive architecture, which relied mainly on stones mined from a nearby lake and wooden planks to mitigate the heat of the region’s climate, in stark contrast to the rest of the city’s hustle and bustle.
Al Tayebat Museum
The museum is a small city that brings together several civilizations, and it is a unique experience that is really worth visiting, and the museum consists of 4 floors and about 300 rooms, and includes all kinds of different exhibitions that lead you to know the history of Saudi Arabia, and there are oil paintings from a century ago, rock sculptures, furniture, traditional Arab costumes, pottery and some other assets.
Makkah Gate
One of the oldest surviving gates in Saudi Arabia, and the gate represents an important matter for pilgrims to the Holy House of Allah, and is one of the most tourist attractions in the Kingdom, and visiting Jeddah will not be complete without visiting the gate of Mecca.
It a sculpture inspired by the Open Quran Body, on a wooden stand, located on Prince Mohammed bin Salman Road linking Shumaisi and the Grand Mosque, and about five kilometers to the west. It is designed by Saudi plastic artist Diaa Aziz, with a length of 152 meters and a width of 31 meters, and the ends of the stand intersect in the middle of the sculpture, and designed to be seen for those coming to Mecca and outside of Mecca at the same visual level.
Pasha Mosque Museum
Al-Basha Mosque one of the historical mosques of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, the mosque located in Haret al-Sham, and built by Bakr Pasha who the guardian of Jeddah in 1735 and the mosque had a minaret that gave the city an architectural monument, and it remained intact until 1978 when the mosque demolished and a new mosque was erected in its place.
The mosque, which built by the Wali of Jeddah in the twelfth century AH in the first Ottoman era Abu Bakr Hussein Pasha, and the mosque among the endowments he founded in 1147 AH, and Hussein Pasha known in Salnama as Jawish Pasha Bakr Pasha, and in Mecca Bekir Pasha.
It converted into a historical museum, illustrating Islam and its history.
Darat Safia Bin Zagr Museum in Jeddah
Safia bin Zagr considered one of the most famous Saudi artists and a supporter of the local art scene. She held her first art exhibition in the sixties, becoming the first Saudi woman to have a solo art show (and she not allowed to attend it until many years later).
She is now the only artist in the country to have her own museum and it is a visit that anyone trying to take a look at what Jeddah was like 30-40 years ago. Safia Benziger known as a strong advocate for the use of art to reflect and preserve the rich traditions of Saudi Arabia.
A common theme in her work revolves around the depiction of everyday life in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the country’s marriage customs, fashion, cuisine, and architecture. She known to sit down with older women before working on many of her paintings to gain a better understanding of the culture in which they grew up.
Jeddah in the days of bliss
This small two-story museum is full of historical artifacts, rare photographs and ancient documents from the sixties – when Saudi Arabia was first exposed to the West.
Expect things like the first Saudi banknotes, the first bottles of Coca-Cola (and Pepsi), gramophones, lots of antique musical instruments, and one of the first ice cream machines in the country!
