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Shopping

For hundreds of years, Jeddah has been a trading post for goods from east and west, north and south and this tradition continues today in full measure.  Originally brought by camel train or dhow, now it is great cargo ships, lorries and airplanes that bring in the myriad of goods to cater to Jeddah residents' every need or want.  Clothes from high fashion haute couture to cheap and cheerful with everything in between, shoes, electronics, books, cameras, florists, fabrics, furniture, housewares, jewellery, cars, motorbikes, motorboats - the list is as long as your imagination.  You can choose to meander in ultra-modern covered shopping malls where each has been designed with a specific style and character or, for a sense of how things used to be, the traditional souqs offer an adventure every time.  Such is the scale of choice in Jeddah that, at the last count, there were some 75 shopping centres - a combination of covered and strip malls of differing size and standard, with new ones materialising on the shoppers' horizon as fast as they can be built.   

As well as the shopping malls and souqs, there are numerous avenues of emporia, and other more modest outlets fronting directly onto the street.  Whether it is an effort to keep an eye on the competition or just a lack of imagination when hunting for premises, it seems that birds of a feather truly stick together.  Shopping centres and streets become known for specialising in certain items such as computers or clothes, which can at least save you hunting all over the city to compare prices. 

There are also an infinite number of speciality shops and services that only seem to be known by word of mouth - for example, the man that cleans, dries and wraps your prized rugs for only SR40 each is an absolute treasure.  He doesn't have an address as such but can be found doing his thing in an open-air walled area on Batterjee Street, opposite Saudi German Hospital.  The place to take anything electrical that has gone fzzzt is one of the many workshops at the west end of Hera'a Street by the History/Stonehenge Roundabout.  

One of the nicest things about shopping here has to be that they are all equal in the pleasure the shopkeepers get from opening their door to you. The designer shops, the five riyal shops.  The chain stores, the souqs.  The furniture shops, the Ferrari showroom.  You are treated with the same care and attention in all of them - there is none of the snobbery found in Bond Street, Rue de Rivoli, Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive.  For those with children, shopping in Jeddah has a huge plus - the staff love children and find it amusing when they disappear into rails of clothing to play hide and seek, or try on all the outrageous shoes!  Much easier to enjoy mooching when there is no sniffy tut-tutting!  Most centres have children's play areas which means the kids may actually be asking you to take them shopping. 

Just a couple of lessons before you are let loose - there are not many!  First, it is still essentially a cash society but an increasing number of outlets do now accept credit and debit cards with cards issued by local banks operating on a signature and PIN security system.  If you have a bank account here it might be worthwhile getting a SPAN (Saudi Payment Network) card that acts as an instant debit card - literally.  Nearly all shops take this now and it also enables you to get money from an ATM (as long as there are funds in your account) without incurring costs on your credit card or keeping large sums of cash in the house.   

The second lesson is always ask for a discount!  It is expected when you shop in Balad and the other souqs and will often not go unrewarded in the modern malls.  In the traditional markets, each shopkeeper will have a different approach but the principle is the same.  They will say an outrageous price that they think they may just have a chance of getting the kawaja to pay.  Following an often humorous exchange, you will reach the best best price, created just for you!  It is best to shop around, as some sellers show no scruples in charging well over the odds.  In the end of course it is up to you - and if you find later that you haven't got the bargain you thought you had, put it down to experience.  I congratulated myself on haggling furiously in Balad, two days after I arrived.  I was so proud of the skilfully negotiated SR40 reduction on the price of an abaya and gladly handed over SR200.  I only realised a day later that I shouldn't have paid more than SR60!    Essentially, just remember that the first price is hardly ever the last price for anything you want to buy in Jeddah, except perhaps in hotels.  Even supermarkets have been known to give a discount on the final total - if it's high enough!  However, the days of half hour haggling sessions exist only in legend now - the best price is reached fairly rapidly.  

The third thing - the sales!  In Jeddah they know how to do sales - not 5, not 10 - a wallet-opening 50% and upwards is the norm.  90% is not unheard of - but that tends to be in Dolce and Gabbana and an SR5000 hair clip is still out of my league at SR500.

 So - there you have it.  Go forth and shop.   What follows is not an exhaustive list to what is on offer in Jeddah, more a mere starting point, a guide to get you going.    

The Souqs The Malls Interesting Others

Note:  The list of shops and malls is endless and they are not all included in here - we wouldn't want to leave you with nothing to explore!  Should you, in your travels find anything that you think must be in the next edition of Jeddah Info and has not been covered please contact us.  

 

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