Jeddah Photography and Exhibition Workshop

A unique photography and exhibition workshop is coming up this month in Jeddah led by internationally acclaimed photographer and producer Richard Wilding.

 

The 6 session workshop will include day and night photography sessions in Al Balad, the vibrant centre of old Jeddah. Participants will be led through the process of selecting and editing their photographs, and the procedures for organising, printing and presenting an exhibition.

Click here to register.

Fee: £ 450 or SR 2,225

Who should participate?

Participants should be aged 18+ and almost fluent in spoken English.

Participants should have a professional or semi professional SLR and a good understanding of the principles of photography.

Participants should have a Mac or PC laptop with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Bridge software.

Programme

Tuesday 14th November / 5 – 8pm

Course introduction

Richard Wilding shows his work and previous exhibitions

Technical and creative brief

Preparation of equipment

Thursday 16th November / 5.30- 8.30pm

Night photography in Al Balad

Saturday 18th November / 10am – 1pm

Editing of images from night photography

2.30 – 5.30pm

Daylight photography in Al Balad

Tuesday 21st November / 5 – 8pm

Editing of images from daylight photography

Thursday 23rd November / 5 – 8pm

Group discussion on exhibition theme and title

Selection of images for exhibition

Saturday 25th November / 10am – 1pm

Preparation of final images for printing

2.30 – 5.30pm

Printing of images commences at printers

Wednesday 29th November

Exhibition opening for participants and their friends and family

 

Richard Wilding

Richard Wilding is a London based photographer and producer working internationally with museums, charities and NGOs. He specialises in the documentation of archaeology, costume and cultural identity in the Middle East. He is a trustee of The Mansoojat Foundation, a charity formed to preserve and document the traditional costumes and heritage of Saudi Arabia.

Richard Wilding’s photography has been exhibited in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, University of Exeter, UK and the Houses of Parliament, London. He has also organised and designed exhibitions and publications in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the UK.

 

The Mad Traveller Comes to Jeddah!

Paul Hudspith, British Airways cabin crew member, has been making videos of his travels every week since 2004. Paul always travels with his (very cool) Brompton foldable bicycle, cycling even under the sweltering sun of Saudi Arabia. The Mad Traveller’s videos can be found on his YouTube channel bromptonglobetrotter. 

While Paul had already been to Riyadh earlier in 2011, he most recently made a video on his visit to Jeddah where he talks about the scorching weather, the beautiful architecture, the open-air art museum around the Corniche and his visit to Balad. We were very lucky to catch hold of Paul and speak to him about his travels, his videos and his visit to Jeddah. 

Paul, you work for British Airways. Is this what inspires your love of travelling?

I’ve worked as a cabin crew with BA for nine years now and yes, the job does inspire me a lot but it’s mainly exposure to nature programmes as a young child that really gave me a huge appetite to explore the wider world around me. The job is really more of an excellent tool to enable many of my dreams to become a reality.

Paul’s first camera operator and fellow Couchsurfer member, Mo.

Of all the Mad Traveller videos you’ve made around the world, which is your favourite?

I’ve been making videos ever since my first trip as crew – which was to Warsaw, Poland on an extremely cold winters’ day in January 2004. Since that first not-so-confident presentation, I’ve developed my shows to the programme format you’ve seen.

Choosing a favourite is always tricky but I would say my top three are: Hong Kong, San Francisco and Tokyo. India is also a fascinating place.

Paul’s second camera operator and fellow Couchsurfer member Toni Riethmaier.

You mentioned some myths and preconceptions about Jeddah in your video. What surprised you the most?

The myths and preconceptions I mentioned referred to Saudi Arabia in general and I would say that the biggest surprise so far has been how amazingly peaceful the cities are. There’s an eerie sense of calm everywhere you go. The allowing of men to wear shorts also came as a surprise.

A visit to the Gold Souk. Paul buys gold on his visit to Jeddah.

Your favourite part of Jeddah?

My favourite spot in the city was the coast (Corniche) – beautiful clear waters and an easy ride along the shore line, and some very quirky public displays of art!

Cycling along the Corniche.

How long did it take you to film the video?

The video took around 6 hours to produce and included the time it took to cycle from Jeddah airport to the hotel. The second half was then filmed in the evening.

Presenting on the Corniche.

 How did you come to choose Jeddah as one of your destinations?

It wasn’t solely my idea to come to Jeddah – I was rostered to operate the flight as crew. I’m randomly rostered to fly to an average of  any 4 global cities served by BA from London per month which could be anywhere in North or South America, Asia, Africa or the Middle East.

And finally, here is the final Mad Traveller video, This Week in Jeddah:

Ever Wondered About The Tomb of Eve (Hawwa)?

Jeddah (or Jiddah) means grandmother in Arabic, and the city is named thus due to the belief that the tomb of Eve or Hawwa lies within this city. The tomb is known as Maqbara Hawwa and is not openly advertised to the public. Guest blogger Delina Partadiredja who writes regularly for aMuslima.com visited the site and reported back to Jeddah Blog.

According to the Koran, Torah and Bible, Adam and Eve did not follow the commands of God to abstain from the forbidden fruit. As a consequence, after being tempted by the devil, they were commanded by God to come down to Earth.

Where did Adam and Eve come on Earth for the first time? Although there are various opinions on the topic, it is cited in Ad-Dur Al Manthur, (Ibn Abbas R.A) that Adam, Eve, Satan and the snake fell at a place called Dajnah, which is between Makkah and Ta’if. Other books claim that Adam landed at Al-Safa while Eve landed at Al-Marwah; the two hills in Makkah where the Sa’i is performed during Umrah in the Grand Mosque. Another source mentions that Adam landed in India while Eve landed in Jeddah and Adam looked for Eve in Muzdalifah (where the stoning ritual is performed during Hajj).

The signpost reads Muqbara Hawwa in Arabic, which means ‘The Tomb of Eve’.

Jeddah means ‘grandmother’ and according to Arab traditions, it is believed that the mother of all human beings (Eve) was buried in Jeddah. Eve’s burial location has not been publicised, but a few years ago I visited the site that is believed to be the tomb of Eve. The place is located near the mosque of Qisash heading toward Balad around the old Jeddah. The public cemetery has no headstones, thus no can tell where exactly Hawwa was buried. This is to prevent people from turning a cemetery into a sacred place for pilgrimages or to engage in Shirk (Polytheism) by asking for blessings and favours from the dead; something that is prohibited in Islam.

The door to the Tomb of Eve. Benches have been placed within.

Her tomb is about 3 metres long and whitewashed. Before being destroyed, the tomb of Eve was about 120m long, 3m wide and 6m high. For those who want to visit the place, people are usually only allowed to stand at the front door of the tomb (this was previously coloured green). Visitors are prohibited inside the tomb and the open doors are guarded to prevent entry.

The tomb was said to be originally almost 400 feet long and that Eve was one hundred and eighteen feet tall.

References: Atlas of the Qur’an by Dr. Shauqi Abu Khalil

Special thanks to Delina Partadiredja for writing for us, and to Zareen Muzaffar for her help in editing this piece.