Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah

Coral-stone tower houses with intricately carved wooden roshan balconies still line the lanes of Al-Balad, the old heart of Jeddah on the Red Sea. From the 7th century the port funnelled Indian Ocean trade toward Mecca and welcomed generations of pilgrims arriving by sea, a double role that bred a cosmopolitan merchant city; its finest tower houses were raised by trading families late in the 19th century. UNESCO inscribed Historic Jeddah in 2014.