Seawater shoots more than 300 m into the air from King Fahd's Fountain, and the spray drifts over the Corniche, where families gather on the lawns facing the Red Sea. Farther along the shore, the white Al-Rahmah Mosque stands on stilts above the shallows and seems to float when the tide comes in.
Inland, the coral-stone tower houses of Al-Balad rise over Souq Al-Alawi, their carved wooden roshan windows shading the lanes below. Winters stay warm and mostly dry, while summers turn very hot and humid. A Local Friend can turn your scattered list of souqs, seafront stops and old houses into a day that runs smoothly from the old town to sunset by the water.
