Tomb of Mother Eve

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Jeddah

Etymology and spelling

There are at least two explanations for the etymology of the name Jeddah. According to Jeddah Ibn Helwaan Al-Qudaa'iy the chief of Quda'a clan. The more common account has it that the name is derived from Jaddah, the Arabic word for "grandmother". According to eastern folk belief, the tomb of Eve (21°29′31′N 39°11′24′E / 21.49194, 39.19), considered the grandmother of humanity, is located in Jeddah. The purported "Grave of Eve" was sealed with concrete by the religious authorities in 1975 as a result of some Muslim pilgrims breaking Islamic doctrine by praying at the site.

Ibn Battuta, The Berber traveller, visited Jeddah during his world trip. He wrote the name of the city into his diary as Juddah.^[2]

The British Foreign Office, used to use the older spelling of Jedda, contrary to other English-speaking usage -- including other branches of the British government, but in 2007 changed to the spelling Jeddah.^[3]

T. E. Lawrence felt that any transcription of Arabic names into English was arbitrary. In his book "Revolt in the Desert" Jeddah is spelled three different ways on the first page alone.^[4]

On official Saudi maps and documents, the city name is transcribed "Jeddah", which is now the prevailing usage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeddah

There are at least two explanations for the etymology of the name 'Jeddah'. One is that name means "seashore," since Jeddah is located along the Red Sea coast and is Saudi Arabia's most important commercial port. The more common account has it that the name is derived from jaddah, the Arabic word for "grandmother". According to eastern folk belief, the tomb of Eve (21°29′31″N 39°11′24″E / 21.49194, 39.19), considered the grandmother of humanity, is located in Jeddah. The supposed "Eve Grave" was sealed with concrete by the religious authorities in 1975 as a result of some Muslim pilgrims breaking Islamic tradition by praying at Eve's tomb. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeddah)

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Map of Jeddah

The name Jeddah meaning the "Ancestor of Women" is attributable to the tomb in the city which is believed to belong to Eve. Today, it is not however possible to see that interesting place since the Saudi Arabian government had the tomb destroyed for the reason that it would instigate perversions in the religion.

http://www.saudi-travel-guide.de/saudiarabiajeddah.html

Eve grave picture in Jeddah. Send Photo to a Friend Jeddah Saudi Arabia Old picture of Eve grave taken in Jeddah. The greave been destroyed when Jeddah became under the Saudi royalty before almost 70 years. Jeddah in Arabic means Grandmother and my town's name is Jeddah due to Eve grave. That means Jeddah city could be the oldest sight in the world.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/455d5/

     Jeddah's past, too, is maybe one of the most fascinating of its features and it goes as far back as the very beginning of the human race, according to an old tradition. One of the meanings of the name of the city itself (spelled "Jadda") is grandmother, which refers to the mother of mankind, Eve.      Tradition says that after Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise, Eve came to live in Jeddah and, from time to time, she visited Adam in Makkah or in Mina. This tradition also recounts that after Eve's death, she was buried in Jeddah, where her tomb withstood the ravages of the ages up until only half a century ago when it could still be seen from Bab Medina --one of the three main gates which surrounded the town up until 1947. In that year the wall was  demolished in order to expand the size of the rapidly growing city. Since Eve's Graveyard --as it was known-- had been venerated for so many centuries, people still stop and stare in awe at the place where the tomb used to be.  

     Historians who are not quite so enthusiastic about this particular tradition, however, trace Jeddah's existence to 2,500 years ago, when it was only a little village, home of the Quda'a tribe which survived on the great variety of fish they could find in the Red Sea. The village happened to be located in such a strategic and convenient place that it soon grew into a center of commerce which facilitated trade between the Mediterranean and the Eastern countries. Eventually, Jeddah acquired an even greater importance when Caliph Othman bin Affan declared it the official port of the Holy Cities. This, in fact, marked a turning point in Jeddah's future not only because of new possibilities for commerce but also because of the arrival of pilgrims coming from all over the world, many of whom took residence in the city.

http://www.saudicaves.com/saudi/oldjeddah.html

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