domingo, junho 05, 2005

Jeddah (revisitada)/Jeddah (revisited)

Foi ha' dois meses atras (mais coisa, menos coisa) que visitei Jeddah pela primeira vez. Na altura, pouco vi da cidade porque limitei-me 'a praia. Desta vez, decidi penetrar pela cidade velha e pelo souque.

A visita 'a cidade velha permite-nos descobrir um modo de vida, uma organizacao social, e uma arquitectura que se encontra em extincao. As ruas sao sinuosas, barulhentas e sujas, mas o antigo das casas confere-lhe o charme que so' a idade confere. As semelhancas com a nossa Alfama sao muitas e as evidencias revelam-se ate' mesmo ao menos atento dos observadores.

De regresso a Riade enfreto a rotina dos dias de trabalho, e a violencia dos 50 graus que se fazem sentir na rua. Decididamente, prefiro os fins-de-semana em Jeddah! :)

It was about two months ago when I visited Jeddah for the first time. Back then, I didn't get a chance to see much of the city because I spent most of the time at the beach. This time, however, I decided to penetrate in the old city and in the souk.

The visit to the old city allowed us to discover a way of living, a social organisation, and an architecture that are in danger of extinction. The roads are jerky, noisy and dirty, but the old of the houses grants a charme to the quarter only allowed by age. There are many resemblances between old Jeddah and the Lisbon quarter of Alfama (the oldest one of the city, dating back to the time of the Arab period), and the evidence are such that they won't go unnoticed even to the most distracted observer.

Back to Riaydh I face everydays routine, and the violence of the heat that outdoors reaches the 50 degrees celsius! I definitely prefer the week-ends in Jeddah! :)



Detalhes/Details Posted by Hello

posted by Olindo Iglesias @ domingo, junho 05, 2005