Air Arabia
Few days back, I traveled to Jeddah, the second largest city of Saudi Arabia, merely with a photographer’s interest of exploring new places. I just wanted to see the beautiful landscape of Jeddah, a city built on the slopes of Hijaz Mountains and its several notable towers, King Fahd’s Fountains and Jeddah Flagpole. I also intended to visit Mecca, as this city also boasts of the ‘Quran Gate’ that leads to the Holy City of Mecca, the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad.
I surfed online and selected the flight of Air Arabia, for traveling from my hometown at Lucknow to Jeddah. I took the direct flight from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport of Lucknow, to King Abdulaziz International Airport of Jeddah. I took the early morning flight and reached my destination in the afternoon, though the time of Lucknow is 2.30 hours ahead of the Jeddah time.
Numbers of airlines are operating on the route between Lucknow and Jeddah. But I preferred the services of Air Arabia, and I had my own reasons for this choice !
The cost of the Economy Class air tickets of this airline is really cheap and affordable for me, so I could use my budget to spend more on the food and other entertainment.
I gained the information from my friends who had earlier boarded the flights of this airline that the passengers are served with mouth-watering Arabian snacks and beverages, which I wanted to relish on.
My great experiences of tasting the most delicious Arabian dishes
When I was touring around Jeddah city, I noticed various hotels and restaurants that serve the cuisines of many other countries; like Italian foods, Indian dishes, etc. But I wanted to taste some typical Arabian cuisines, to enrich my experience of travelling that country. So I entered a local Arabian restaurant and ordered for a few famous Arabian dishes, including the famous Kabsa and Jereesh, and asked the chef thoroughly about its ingredients and how they made them which I am sharing with you here.
Kabsa is the most popular cuisine of this land and it is expertly prepared from rice, several vegetables and meat. Though earlier only lamb meat was used in this dish; now many people prefer chicken, due to their health reasons. This exotic dish is mostly made of long grained rice, like Basmati and a wide variety of rich spices, like black pepper, saffron, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon. Sometimes, fish and shrimps are also used instead of meat, in the preparation of Kabsa.
Jereesh is another delicious cuisine of Arab region, which is mostly eaten as a flavorsome side dish. It is prepared from groats, a type of whole grain; which is mixed with onions, tomatoes, red pepper and minced chicken.
Margoog is a luscious sauce that is prepared from grinded meat, vegetable purees and paste of flour. It is mostly eaten with Kabsa or other main meals.
Gursan is a typical Arabian dish that is prepared by mixing baking flour dough with many vegetables and meat. It is usually served with Kabsa, in many restaurants.
The foodie in me was really happy and satisfied and the photographer in me was also satiated by the visual delights this city had to offer! Thanks to the best choice in airline and the eateries I visited , I had a smooth journey with lots of beautiful memories !