The houses of Al Balad have a special feature called a 'roshan' - a tall wooden bay window covered in carved patterns. The wooden lattice lets cool sea breezes blow through the rooms but stops the bright sunlight from getting in. It is air conditioning without any electricity, invented hundreds of years ago.
The houses are built from coral - actual blocks cut from old coral reefs. Coral stone is light and full of tiny holes, so it keeps buildings cool. Builders used wooden beams between layers of coral to make the walls flexible during small earthquakes. They were brilliant engineers.
Travellers came to Jeddah from India, East Africa, Egypt and many other places, and many decided to stay. Some of the houses in Al Balad belonged to merchants from far away. Over hundreds of years, all those cultures mixed - in the food, in the music and in the stories.
In 2014, UNESCO added Al Balad to its list of World Heritage Sites. Today, parts of the old town are being carefully restored - cracked balconies are repaired by craftspeople who still know the old carving techniques. Some of the houses are now small museums you can walk through.