Thanks for your comments so far - let's go with part 3...
#39 Another city, another hotel - Prime Hotel in Al Hamra district
#40
#41 On my way to Al-Balad neighborhood, the 'old city' of Jeddah
#42
#43
#44
#45 It might not be the prettiest place but at least it's original and you can definitely imagine what it must have been like 50 years ago
#46
#47 Not many Saudis around this area...mainly people from the Indian subcontinent as well as Sudanese and Egyptians.
#48
#49 After visiting Al-Balad it was time for some siesta before visiting Al Rahma Mosque, also known as the floating mosque of Jeddah
#50
#51 During prayers even the fuel stations are closed for a few minutes
#52 Getting up very early the next morning
#53 There's no better place than visiting the fish market at around sunrise when there's no foreigners around and the trade is in full swing
#54
#55 Tower of the port authorities
#56 Visiting this lovely mosque again
#57 ...before catching an Uber to the airport to finally head to Beirut and onwoards to Syria. Pilgrims returning home to Medan, Indonesia
#58 Arrived at about midnight in Beirut and left the hotel at 5am with literally no sleep. We had to leave this early due to the ongoing crisis in Lebanon with streets closed all over the country. This dirt road was literally the last chance to get to the border, took us about 12 different routes before we found this one. Our driver on the phone receiving the latest news about closed routes.
#59 Made it...at least to Anjar for a quick cafe. Instead of the usual 1-1,5h it took us about 5 hours to the border.
Immigration was super easy and no questions asked at all. A simple form to fill out and we were stamped into Syria.
#60 Welcome to Damascus!
#61 Hello there, world-famous Beit Al Wali Hotel.
That's it for part 3, stay tuned!