Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – The 100-year-old Souq Bab Shareef (Bab Shareef Market), one of Jeddah's most famous markets, has been closed by the municipality. Authorities said the closure was due to rampant safety violations in the market that they could no longer ignore as the safety of visitors was in jeopardy. Storekeepers asked the municipality to rescind its decision, which they said came suddenly and without any notice and has caused them great financial losses. They also promised to address the safety violations but the municipality rejected the calls and stressed that the closure will continue indefinitely until all violations have been corrected, inspected and approved. Sami Al-Ghamdi, director of the Information Center at Jeddah Municipality, confirmed that the market has been closed due to multiple building code and safety violations. The most serious of violations is the existence of iron hangars, which violate safety protocols. He promised storekeepers would be allowed to reopen their stores once the violations have been corrected. The tug-of-war between storekeepers and the municipality saw the former take its complaints to the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) to put pressure on the municipality to allow them to resume business activities in the market. Mukhtar Al-Shawafi, a storekeeper in the market, described the decision to close the market as sudden. "The municipality did not issue any warning or notice. It should have taken into consideration that many people are earning their daily bread from these stores," he said. "We went to Al-Balad Municipality to ask about the reasons for the closure. The municipality said the roofs covering the passageways of the market should be removed. We tried to convince them that the roofs provide shade for shoppers and protect them from the hot sun. As the market and stores are old, there is no central air-conditioning in the passageways. The roofs are the only thing that helps reduce the heat," he added. Mutahar Naji, another storekeeper, said: "We were surprised by the presence of municipality supervisors who demanded the closure of our stores. They then placed adhesive tapes on padlocks to prevent us from opening our stores." He said the supervisors warned that a fine of SR5,000 will be slapped on anyone who opens his store. "This is unreasonable; how can they just close our stores in this manner without any prior notice, under the pretext of the existence of safety violations and the necessity to dismantle and remove the arcade? Such an operation will take a long time. The removal of arcade on Qabil Street took more than three months. The storekeepers there incurred huge losses for which they were never compensated," he added. Naji went on to suggest that the municipality should give storekeepers a grace period to address any safety violations. "Can anyone believe that the market is closed down in this way? The roofs were there for decades. They are not recent and we cannot remove them overnight. When we went to the municipality and requested it to give us a chance to open our stores while the roofs were being removed, they rejected our request." Bab Shareef was one of the eight gates in the wall surrounding Old Jeddah. It was given this name when the Shareef was the administrator at that time. He used to leave via this gate, so it was named after him. It is located south of Historical Jeddah. The former umdah (district mayor) of Al-Yemen and Al-Bahr districts and one of the oldest residents of the area, Abdulsamad Muhammad Abdulsamad, said in the past markets like Souq Al-Alawi and Qabil were not covered by roofs and described the current roofs as an innovation. "In the past, the market had a mixture of traders, including Saudis specifically from the Ghamdi tribe. They are the oldest Saudi traders in the market. There were also Yemenis who were known as Al-Hadharim and Sudanese traders as well. During the olden days, they used to sell nails, textiles and shoes. This market neighbors the famous Souq Al-Asr in Al-Bukhariah district, which specializes in the sale of radios." "Bab Shareef was Jeddah's southern gate. It was located in front of Barhat Al-Aqeeli (Al-Aqeeli courtyard). At present, this courtyard belongs to the Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah. Previously, it was used as a parking lot, but the directorate has taken back its ownership," Abdulsamad added. Sayer Al-Kreithi, a lawyer and legal consultant, said the indefinite closure of the market is a violation of the regulations so long as no notice or warnings were issued. Furthermore, he said stores in the market are licensed and have permits from the municipality and Civil Defense. He said the municipality's decision was wrong as there is no justification for abruptly shutting down the entire market on the pretext of the arcade. "The sudden decision to close down the whole market without any warning has harmed storekeepers, many of whom are unable to pay rents or the salaries of their workers. On the basis of Article 46 of the municipalities' and villages' regulation, the traders who have been harmed by the closure of the market have the right to file a grievance with the minister of municipal and rural affairs. They have the right to demand nullification of the decision to close down the market," he said. "If there is no reply or the reply is negative, they can refer the matter to the Administrative Court to demand the nullification of the administrative decision as it violates current regulations. Storekeepers can also demand financial compensation for the losses they have incurred as a result of the closure. A verdict will be issued in favor of the harmed victims, as the closure decision from the very start was illegal."
