(AKA Doing the Tahlia Walkway)
OK I confess, I’m really not doing much exercise; I have a few excuses such as being busy with work, a few aches, but in the end I really need to get off my butt and do something. So today being a weekend, I decided to venture out from my Jeddah hotel and cross the street to a rather unique feature called the ‘Tahlia Walkway’.
The walkway is a 2km stretch of paved area which runs adjacent to the major shopping thoroughfare of ‘Tahlia Street’, built to enable local Jeddah residents to have a place to walk or run, without fear of having to dodge the endless and somewhat dangerous local traffic.
Despite having been here for almost 3 months, I had yet to take advantage of this facility, so what better time than a peaceful Friday when the sun is at it’s midday peak, hey, its only about 27 degrees!
So, off I set… past the familiar sight of the local Chinese …
Then onto the walkway itself …
Whilst I’m told it’s very busy at night and early morning, at midday on a Friday it was empty – I think during the time that I was out walking, I saw about 4 people. But I wasn’t deterred, I wanted to get the blood pumping, so armed with my iPhone and a bottle of water (and cap!) I began to explore the 2KM trail.
First up, just in case the walk itself in this heat is not tough enough, there are a number of exercise machines – I decided to give them a miss!
The walkway is just a long, straight path, but on either side there are a number of quite amazing buildings, many of which are very palatial family homes.
There are distance markers, and seats along the way for those in need, but not for me, I put my best foot forward, heading to the end of the line!
After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the far end, only to be met by yet more exercise machines, but again I fought off the urge to try them out! Oh, and there was a restaurant brand that you may be familiar with – one to check out later.
After a short rest, and a few swigs of water, it was time to turn round, and start the 2km back to my hotel.
By the time I got back to my room, I had been out about an hour, so hardly world record pace for the 4km or so that I had covered, but it was an enjoyable walk, and I had achieved my objective of ‘getting off my butt’. I really must try it at night next time.
We go to this walkway quite regularly. It was probably empty due to Friday prayers. Evenings are a lot busier.
Thanks, yes I’m sure that was the reason, its a lovely place to walk tho, especially when i was staying at the Ascott, just across the road!