Yesterday was the last day of the weekend, so my family and I decided to spend the day at the beach. Not wanting to swim in our abayas, which is what local women do at public beaches, we opted for Silver Sands, one of several exclusively expat beach resorts, about a half hour away from the center of Jeddah.
The beach is located in part of a small gulf and is completely man-made, meaning that a wealthy local bought the land and created a beach resort from scratch. Silver Sands is pretty much what you'd expect from any beach club. Palm trees and umbrellas provide much-needed shade, comfortable chaise lounges placed strategically under them, a concession area serves all sorts of tasty snacks and cold drinks, and the locker rooms, showers and restrooms are relatively clean, albeit sandy. There is even a tiny artificial island just a few meters out into the water. The island itself is bare, except for some palm trees and sand, but the rocks around it are home to dozens of menacing-looking crabs the size of my fist. On the edge of the beach are a few bungalows, rented out by expats, and the owner's personal villa.
The water was a pleasant surprise. Coming from Greece, a country with some of the most gorgeous beaches and waters in the world, I have very high standards when it comes to these things, and, I must admit, I treated claims that the Red Sea is lovely with suspicion. However, I found the water wonderful, refreshing without being cold, practically clear, and clean.
There is quite a variety of activities to engage in at Silver Sands. There is a net for beach volley and goalposts for football, as well as a trampoline for children. Water sports are generally very popular in the Red Sea, so sailboats (Laser), jet skis and windsurf boards can all be rented right on the beach. It is also possible to hire an instructor for these activities and the best part is you can enjoy them all year round, since it's always summer!
Generally, I'd say Silver Sands is a great weekend getaway, as it provides a relaxing, family-friendly atmosphere, the sea and constant light breeze being the perfect way to cool down after a week in the city. The only downside is the entrance fee, which came to about 20 Euros per person. And here I thought that spending 5 Euros at my local private beach back home (which,incidentally, provides almost the same things as Silver Sands) was extravagant.
This post isn't just a review of Silver Sands beach, though. There was also an "incident" worth mentioning. While walking down the beach with my father, a man hears us speaking and greets us in Greek. He strikes up conversation with my father, and soon, in typical greek fashion, he's offering us ouzo ( I honestly don't have a clue as to how that got into the country), soft drinks and snacks, even taramosalata, which is a pinkish sort of greek spread. We are soon joined by my mother, a couple more Greek guys and the first man's girlfriend, who is, in her own words, "Saudi by nationality, international at heart". So at this point it's almost a party. Our "host" has lived in Saudi for 30 years. And I'm wondering if I can get through 6 more months... Anyway, he talks about the Greek community in Jeddah, which was very large when he first came, whereas now, there are only about 400 Greeks in the city.
At some point his lady-friend asks if I'd like a ride on her jet-ski to see the gulf a bit. There was no way I was going to say no to that. The whole gulf seems to be laced with the country homes of the wealthy. I'd never seen such massive and incredibly luxurious houses. Some of them had what seemed like acres of lawn and palm trees, some had pools, and all of them, no exception, had their own private pier, where a boat or a couple of jet-skis would be docked. The strange thing is, there were hardly any people enjoying these houses. I guess oil sheikhs have more important things to do than chill at the beach...
The beach is located in part of a small gulf and is completely man-made, meaning that a wealthy local bought the land and created a beach resort from scratch. Silver Sands is pretty much what you'd expect from any beach club. Palm trees and umbrellas provide much-needed shade, comfortable chaise lounges placed strategically under them, a concession area serves all sorts of tasty snacks and cold drinks, and the locker rooms, showers and restrooms are relatively clean, albeit sandy. There is even a tiny artificial island just a few meters out into the water. The island itself is bare, except for some palm trees and sand, but the rocks around it are home to dozens of menacing-looking crabs the size of my fist. On the edge of the beach are a few bungalows, rented out by expats, and the owner's personal villa.The water was a pleasant surprise. Coming from Greece, a country with some of the most gorgeous beaches and waters in the world, I have very high standards when it comes to these things, and, I must admit, I treated claims that the Red Sea is lovely with suspicion. However, I found the water wonderful, refreshing without being cold, practically clear, and clean.
There is quite a variety of activities to engage in at Silver Sands. There is a net for beach volley and goalposts for football, as well as a trampoline for children. Water sports are generally very popular in the Red Sea, so sailboats (Laser), jet skis and windsurf boards can all be rented right on the beach. It is also possible to hire an instructor for these activities and the best part is you can enjoy them all year round, since it's always summer!
Generally, I'd say Silver Sands is a great weekend getaway, as it provides a relaxing, family-friendly atmosphere, the sea and constant light breeze being the perfect way to cool down after a week in the city. The only downside is the entrance fee, which came to about 20 Euros per person. And here I thought that spending 5 Euros at my local private beach back home (which,incidentally, provides almost the same things as Silver Sands) was extravagant.
This post isn't just a review of Silver Sands beach, though. There was also an "incident" worth mentioning. While walking down the beach with my father, a man hears us speaking and greets us in Greek. He strikes up conversation with my father, and soon, in typical greek fashion, he's offering us ouzo ( I honestly don't have a clue as to how that got into the country), soft drinks and snacks, even taramosalata, which is a pinkish sort of greek spread. We are soon joined by my mother, a couple more Greek guys and the first man's girlfriend, who is, in her own words, "Saudi by nationality, international at heart". So at this point it's almost a party. Our "host" has lived in Saudi for 30 years. And I'm wondering if I can get through 6 more months... Anyway, he talks about the Greek community in Jeddah, which was very large when he first came, whereas now, there are only about 400 Greeks in the city.
At some point his lady-friend asks if I'd like a ride on her jet-ski to see the gulf a bit. There was no way I was going to say no to that. The whole gulf seems to be laced with the country homes of the wealthy. I'd never seen such massive and incredibly luxurious houses. Some of them had what seemed like acres of lawn and palm trees, some had pools, and all of them, no exception, had their own private pier, where a boat or a couple of jet-skis would be docked. The strange thing is, there were hardly any people enjoying these houses. I guess oil sheikhs have more important things to do than chill at the beach...
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