Too much to write about. Action packed first day. Charlotte and I are the only two on the tour. Guide drives us around to all the stops and restaurants. Guide buys us drinks and coffee while we wait in the car. We are not allowed to even carry our luggage 20 feet to the car. Someone takes care of everything. We pick the restaurants, guide orders and pays for whatever food we want. Everything is included.
Started tour by visiting 50,000 square foot house turned into Museum in Jeddah. Family moved out and left everything as it was. It was a 1985 time capsule. Family moved to a new house because wife was tired of kids touching all of the antiques so they built a new house and left the antiques in this one. House had indoor fountain and waterfall. You can barely see Charlotte sitting at end of the long dining room table
Had Yemen food for lunch. This was a banana, honey dessert
Visited the parks along the Red Sea.
Finished day in old Jeddah which is the original walled city. Guide warned us about the temperature. Said we would melt and would be soaked with sweat. He was right. Charlotte barely made it back to car. 100 plus degrees and humid.
Old Jeddah is in disrepair, but is being restored as part of new Tourism push in Saudi. Old Saudi is known for the wood Roshan on the outside of the buildings. The wood prevented people from seeing the woman inside the house, but allowed air flow for cooling. The amount of Roshan was a sign of the wealth of the family.
Matthew of Arabia 