Jeddah

Jeddah (also spelled Jedda, Jiddah, Jidda, or Juddah; جدّة Ǧiddah) is a Saudi Arabian city. It is on the coast of the Red Sea (21.50° N 39.1667° E). It is the major urban center in western Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is the largest city in the Western Province, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city Riyadh. The city has over 3.4 million people. It is seen as the business capital of Saudi Arabia and the richest city in the Middle East and western Asia.

Jeddah جدّة Jidda
City
Jeddah Skyline
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname:  The Bride of the Red Sea
Jeddah Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Coordinates: 21°32′36″N 39°10′22″E
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Makkah (Mecca)
Established	From the 6th century BC
Joined Saudi Arabia	1925
Government
• City Mayor	Hani Abu Ras[1]
• Governorate Mayor	Saleh Al-Turki[2]
Area
• City	1,570 km2 (610 sq mi)
• Urban	1,686 km2 (651 sq mi)
• Metro	3,000 km2 (1,000 sq mi)
Elevation	12 m (39 ft)
Population  (2012)
• City	5,112,018
• Density	2,921/km2 (1,826/sq mi)
• Urban	3,855,912
• Metro	5,318,636
	Jeddah City estimate
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EAT)
Postal Code	(5 digits)
Area code	+966-2
Website	Jeddah Municipality

Jeddah is the main gateway to Mecca, the holiest city of Islam, where able-bodied Muslims must go to at least once in a lifetime.

Sister cities

Jeddah has 23 sister cities (aka "twin towns"):

• Almaty, Kazakhstan
• Amman, Jordan
• Baku, Azerbaijan
• Alexandria, Egypt
• Cairo, Egypt
• Stuttgart, Germany
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Jakarta, Indonesia
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Adana, Turkey
• Johor Bahru, Malaysia
• Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia
• Karachi, Pakistan
• Mari, Turkmenistan
• Odesa, Ukraine
• Osh, Kyrgyzstan
• Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• Casablanca, Morocco
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Shimonoseki, Japan
• St. Petersburg, Russia
• Strasbourg, France
• Xi'an, People's Republic of China