Visited in February 2024. Walking around the historical Jeddah during noon on a weekday, you'll get the place all for yourself. Not much local life here during the daytime, which is the case everywhere in Saudi Arabia. The old town is still mostly a construction site. Almost every building is undergoing renovations and none of the museums were open for the public during my visit. However, the old town is still quite picturesque with the tall buildings and their wooden balconies. 

I started my visit from the Al Bayaa Square in the northern part of the old town, where one of the old gates is located. There was a lot of buzz around here as people were building up stalls for the Jeddah half marathon. From there I started to walk towards Shafei Mosque. I found this northern part of the old town to be the most pleasant part, maybe because there was no one around, but also the buildings were there more beautiful. Rest of the old town has more non-traditional buildings in the mix. At Shafei Mosque I was invited to join a tour group and heard about the history of the mosque. The beautifully carved wooden door of the mosque is 600 years old. From the mosque I continued to Nassif House Museum which was closed for renovations. The building is beautiful and well-restored from the outside. From there I walked along the Souq Al Alawi to Matbouli House Museum which was very much closed and didn't show any signs that it was going to open for visitors any time soon. The souq was the most liveliest part of the old town with many locals doing their shopping there. At the east end of the souq is the Mekkah Gate, which was currently surrounded by a busy street and a construction site, so not the most pleasant environment. From here I slowly walked through the old town again back to where I started.

The old town is definitely the most interesting place to visit in Jeddah and deserves couple hours of strolling. I hope the museums will open soon or are already open, so the historical aspect of this district comes alive better. Some informative signs around the district would be helpful too. I'm sure it's more lively after dark, just like any place in Saudi Arabia, but for now it's just a construction site during the day. I didn't spot any cafés or other places where to sit down to enjoy the historical buildings and escape the humid heat of the coastal city.