Amal Al-Sibai Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Less than two months ago, the Fakieh Aquarium on Jeddah's Corniche opened its doors to enthusiastic visitors in the presence of the governor of the Makkah Province, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal. “The idea for this project was born out of my vision to present to Jeddah residents and visitors a modern and distinctive attraction. My goal was to build a venue that would offer a preview of this city's heritage and tie in entertainment, knowledge, and science at the same time,” said the aquarium's founder, Abdul Rahman Fakieh. The aquarium was jam-packed during the first few weeks after its inauguration, but now that the crowds have slightly subsided and as long as you avoid the peak hours, a visit to the aquarium can prove to be a relaxing, pleasant, and educational experience for the whole family. Our in-depth Saudi Gazette report will help provide the reader with all the necessary information. The aquarium is open daily from 11 am to 11 pm Saturday through Thursday, and from 1:30 pm to 11 pm on Friday. There are four dolphin shows each day and the timings are of the shows are at: 1 pm, 7 pm, 9 pm, and 11 pm every day, except for Fridays which are at 2:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 6:30 pm, and 8:30 pm. Entrance tickets are SR 50 per person, with an additional SR 50 for the dolphin show. Children under the age of 2 years visit the aquarium for free. The aquarium's site on Facebook occasionally announces a discounted entrance fee of SR 30 on Fridays. Cameras are allowed inside to capture memorable photos but you will be instructed to avoid using the flash inside the aquarium. Fakieh Aquarium is home to more than 7,000 exotic sea creatures from 200 species on display in 155 fish tanks. The exhibits display to the visitor what the underwater sea life typical to the Red Sea looks like, known to be abundant in dazzling coral reef. Available throughout the aquarium are helpful guides who are friendly, well read on marine life, and are willing to explain curious young children all the various types of fish. We found these tour guides extremely useful in answering questions and spotting out and naming the fish swimming by in the tanks and engaging children's interest. Upon entering the aquarium your first stop will be an open tank, representative of the shores of the Red Sea, rich in mangrove shrubs and colorful fish. The mangroves serve as a sanctuary for many small fish and act as habitats for wildlife and also prawns and crabs. Coastal mangroves play a critical role in reducing the impact of cyclonic storms, hurricanes, and tsunami effects on human lives and property. There are separate tanks to accommodate almost every sea creature you have ever heard or read about, and even some that you may have not. Families enjoy the mesmerizing yet soothing sights of floating jellyfish, clown fish, eels, stingray fish, and parrot fish. Kids will have a great time visually relating what they see to the popular movie "Finding Nemo" while learning a lot in the process too. They will be excited to see the hero of the film which is a lost clown fish, the black, yellow, and white striped banner fish, puffer fish, cleaner shrimp, starfish, and their all-time favorite amnesiac friend, Dory which is a blue tang fish. Some of the lesser known but equally amazing fish are the unicorn fish, named that because of their small horns, and the bird fish which gained that name for their distinctive bird-like beaked snouts. A small, glowing turquoise blue and black fish is called doctor fish because it cleans the mouths and outer skin of larger, non-predatory fish. The excitement is guaranteed to rise in young children as they discover that the fish on the other side of the glass wall are venomous and could be lethal to humans, including the stonefish and lionfish. The most outstanding part of the aquarium is the tunnel that you walk through with water on all sides as remarkable sea creatures swim and float by. Staring right into the eyes of a scary shark is thrilling and will send tremors down the back of children and adults alike. The tunnel aquarium and another enormous fish tank at Fakieh Aquarium contain the larger fish such as the tiger shark, zebra shark, and groupers. One of the tour guides informed us that sharks have to keep moving constantly, even when they are asleep. Most sharks can swim up to 40 miles per hour, the largest species of sharks have up to 4,000 teeth, and the zebra shark can grow to nearly 3 meters in length and live for 30 years. The dolphin show is very impressive, and the six dolphins and their trainers received a standing ovation by the ecstatic audience. Dolphins are amazingly intelligent creatures and they performed all sorts of tricks: jumping high, swimming backwards vertically, thrusting their bodies upwards out of the water on command, flipping, jumping through a hoop, and even waving their tales at the crowd. If your adventure makes you hungry, you can buy some snacks, light meals, cold drinks, coffee or tea at the Snack Shack. A restaurant is currently under construction. Bringing your own food for a family picnic is permitted. The perfect end to a great day at the aquarium is resting at the picnic tables on the wooden deck directly above the seaside, with water stretching out to the horizon and the waves playing music to your ears. The cleaners are doing a great job of keeping the entire place impeccably clean and litter-free. Ruba Mahmoud enjoyed her trip to the aquarium but she said that there is still room for improvement. “My boys were waiting to see tortoises, sea horses, and octopuses which we did not find at the aquarium. "We wanted to take home some souvenirs but the gift shop was too expensive. The aquarium was a bit smaller than we had expected but nonetheless it was a refreshing change to experience a recreational activity with my family in Jeddah that was also educational,” said Ruba. No one is ever too young or too old to learn something new, and a trip to Fakieh Aquarium might just make learning about marine life more fun than ever before.
