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As a Tijuanense (been born in Tijuana, Mexico), I would love to tell a little bit about my hometown, "Tijuana". I lived there for almost 15 years. Tijuana B.C. was founded in 1889. It was named Tijuana after a ranch called "Tia Juana" which means "Aunt Jane". Tijuana is located 20 miles south of San Diego and on her west side, are the beaches on the Pacific Ocean.Tijuana's most famous attractions are her tourist places and the border that divides Mexico from the United States.
Tijuana is one of the closest cities to the U.S. border, and its location attracts industrial markets, international business and migrants from all over the country, according to the information that I found on the Internet . Industries have found this city convenient and attractive mostly because of the cheap labor. Meanwhile, migrants are attracted to these jobs because most of them cannot find work in their hometown. Immigration to the United States is another attraction; this has caused a rapid population increase to the city. Today, Tijuana is called the city of immigrants and its actual population is 1,151,3131. Economically, many of these migrants merging in Tijuana do not have the sources to cross the border nor to go back to their hometown and consequently, they stay in the city. Tijuana is one of the few cities that offer hospitality to all the reported immigrants. Its government tries to provide them social services such as schools, health, police and other services. Unfortunately, in actuality, these services are almost impossible to be provided due to Tijuana's immense population.
Tourism is one of the most important sources for the city's economy. During " The Gold Age" in 1920 -1933, Tijuana's popularity for the traffic of drugs, alcohol, discos, bars, prostitution and so on, attracted many famous Hollywood artist, athletes and distinguished business men to the so called "free zones" until in 1935, when government Lazaro Cardenas closed one of the most visited places to gamble Agua Caliente ending at the same time Tijuana's Gold Age. Today, Tijuana's economy stability stills depends on its tourism. Thousands of tourists cross the border to visit Tijuana's cultural places, such as La Casa de La Cultura, The Toros, The Hippodrome, Aguas Calientes and La Avenida Revolution.
Tijuana is a tourist place and its a very interesting place to go. I personally encourage you to go there and feel its freedom. Maybe you might be interested in finding more information about the industrial manufacturing or perhaps you might just want to go to all those tourists places that I mentioned above. Tijuana is a unique place. I couldn't ever know how to describe Tijuana exactly, maybe a wild place, I don't know, but I feel very proud of being a Tijuanense.
I will write about Jeddah for many reasons, the most important reason is that I was born in Jeddah and my family lives there. Also, I spent all my life there.
Jeddah is located in Saudi Arabia and also it is a coastal city on the Red Sea. Jeddah is the second largest city after Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is the main port in Saudi Arabia and it is the main gate through which most of the pilgrims arrive by air and sea to perform Umrah, Hajj, or to visit the two holy mosques.
Jeddah is an industrial and active commercial center with modern features. Jeddah has a long beautiful "corniche" on the Red Sea coast. A corniche is a long street that has many parks for fun, and also has many places for the people who are smoking "shishah". Shishah is a kind of tobacco that people smoke in my country.
Education in Jeddah is very advanced, so it has many different kinds of schools, private, and public. In the public school the government takes care of the tuition that the students need. Jeddah also includes King Abdul Aziz University that has many different majors such as Medical, Engineering, and Business. Also you don't have to pay any tuition to the university.
Jeddah becomes more modern every day because many rich businessmen are giving their money to make the city of Jeddah one of the most beautiful cities on the world, like Los Angeles or Paris. For example, Jeddah has the King Abdul Aziz International Airport and the Jeddah Islamic Port. Jeddah has become one of the main ports between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Actually, Jeddah has become more cosmopolitan. Also, the history of Jeddah is not old because it's one of the newest cities in Saudi Arabia.
There are many features in the city of Jeddah. For example, on the corniche of Jeddah, there is a mosque on the beach so all the people take pictures. Also, King Fahad Fountain is located on the beach of the Red Sea; it is a wonderful place with many features so people visit it. For example, the fountain sends beautiful colored water up to two hundred and sixty meters.
The weather in Jeddah in the summer is very hot and humid. In the winter it is cool and benign. Also in the winter, sometimes it rains, but only a few times, like once or twice a year.
Today, Jeddah is becoming more modern, and also we can call it a luxurious city. For example, if you are walking on the corniche of the Jeddah you see many of the huge buildings that were built on that street "corniche".
I like Jeddah so much for many reasons. The most important reason is Jeddah is my hometown, my family lives there, and also I spent my childhood there in Jeddah. I like you Jeddah, and really I miss you at this time. Jeddah "Queen of the Red Sea" is Arab, Islamic, and cosmopolitan, an ancient and modern civilization at a unique moment in its history.
After Majed and I researched for our cites, we came to the conclusion that our cites are very different, but we also noticed that, after all their differences, they have some things in common.
Some of the few things that we found similar are that both are involved with international businesses and that tourism is very important for their economic stability. In addition, they both have attractions such as parks, cultural buildings and lastly both are located on west coasts.
On the other hand, our cities differ in many ways. Our cultures are very different, and the cities are both located in very different parts of the world. Tijuana is located south of the United States and west on the Pacific Ocean, as Jeddah is in the Middle East with the Red Sea on her sides. The system of government is not the same. In Jeddah, her habitants follow their religion's regulations and they have a kind for governing. While Tijuana's government is Democratic and it has a governor for their leader. Although these two cities have tourist places, their purpose is exactly the opposite; in the City of Jeddah there are more cultural museums and castles with valuable art. Meanwhile, in Tijuana there are cultural places, but most of her tourists attractions are places such as bars, discos, and shopping malls. Jeddah is more committed to religion, which is practiced by most of her population. Religion is practiced in Tijuana, but her population and tourists are more interested in her partying.
Tijuana and Jeddah have their differences and similarities but they both still are very special and beautiful. Majed and I, as two very proud natives, we recommend you to visit our hometown. We assure you, you will enjoy every single detail about them.
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Updated: 10/22/98
