Wender·Vista
Yanbu
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSaudi Arabia
on the Red Sea coast, north of Jeddah

Yanbu

— the sea Lawrence knew, still the same blue.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A Red Sea port about 350 kilometres north of Jeddah. The old town keeps a quarter of coral-stone houses where T.E. Lawrence stayed in 1916, when Yanbu was the staging ground for the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans. The modern city west of it ships much of the kingdom's refined oil. Between the two, the lagoon holds the colour the Red Sea is famous for, the blue with green underneath.

from the studio
Yanbu
— bring it home

Yanbu, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Yanbu

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Yanbu al Bahr, 'Yanbu by the sea,' sits on the eastern shore of the Red Sea in Al Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia, around 350 kilometres north of Jeddah and 220 west of Medina. The city has been a port since the first century BCE, serving as Medina's outlet to the sea. Greater Yanbu's population is around 330,000. Yanbu Industrial City, founded in 1975, holds one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the Middle East and is run under the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.

— informed by Wikipedia: Yanbu
— the water

The Red Sea here runs warm across the year, between 22 and 30 degrees Celsius, and the reef wall offshore drops sharply within a few hundred metres of the beach. Yanbu's dive sites, including Seven Sisters, Sharm Yanbu, and the wreck of the Iona, sit on coral known for sharper colour than the more diluted reefs further south. Visibility commonly runs over thirty metres. Hawksbill turtles, reef sharks, and Spanish dancers are common sightings. The water is calmest from April through October.

— the stone

Old Yanbu, Al Balad, keeps a quarter of coral-stone houses with carved wooden mashrabiya screens and inner courtyards, the same Hejazi-coastal style that Jeddah's UNESCO old town shows on a larger scale. The most famous house is Beit Al Naqeeb, where T.E. Lawrence stayed during the 1916-17 Arab Revolt, when Yanbu was the staging port for the move on Medina. Restoration work led by the Saudi Heritage Commission has reopened parts of the quarter since 2019.

— where
Saudi Arabia · Yanbu al Bahr, Al Madinah Province
— elevation
6 m · 20 ft
— position
24.0883° N · 38.0635° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
220 km E
Medina
holy city
350 km S
Jeddah
Red Sea port
300 km NE
Al-Ula
Nabataean heritage site
30 km W
Yanbu Industrial City
industrial zone
150 km NW
Umluj
Red Sea archipelago
N
Yanbu
Medina
Jeddah
Al-Ula
Yanbu Industrial City
Umluj
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Yanbu — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

On the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, about 350 kilometres north of Jeddah and 220 west of Medina, in Al Madinah Province. It has long served as Medina's port to the sea.

Lawrence stayed in Yanbu during the winter of 1916-17, when the town was the staging ground for the Arab Revolt's advance toward Medina. His base was Beit Al Naqeeb in the old quarter.

The historic Al Balad quarter, a cluster of coral-stone houses with carved mashrabiya screens and courtyards in the Hejazi-coastal style. Restoration began in earnest under the Saudi Heritage Commission after 2019.

Yes. The reef wall sits within a few hundred metres of the beach, water temperatures run 22 to 30 Celsius across the year, and visibility commonly exceeds thirty metres. Major sites include Seven Sisters and the Iona wreck.

A planned industrial zone founded in 1975, west of the old port, holding refineries and one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the Middle East. It operates under the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu.

October through April. Temperatures stay manageable, the sea is calm, and visibility on the reef is at its best. May through September runs hot and humid along the coast.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The Red Sea coast carries a strong sense of place for anyone from the western kingdom, and Yanbu's mix of old port and open sea reads on the piece. The Medium hangs in a majlis or study.

Coastal-modern, Arabian-Modern, and warm Minimalist palettes built around sand, oat, and Red Sea blue. The piece reads well next to dark wood, brass, and woven palm.

Yes. The current move leans on regional landscapes, the Red Sea coast and the Hejaz mountains and the Empty Quarter, over generic Mediterranean scenes. Yanbu sits squarely inside that shift.

A single Large covers most sofas. For a wider majlis wall a 4-tile Mural reads as one painting at distance, and a 9-tile Mural anchors a long console or entryway.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both handle humidity and resist scratching, which makes them sound for a powder-room or a bath wall.

A dry or barely-damp microfibre cloth. No solvents, no abrasives. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so cleaning will not wear it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in-house by Reid Wender, the curator, in our distinctive visual language. No outside licensing, no stock imagery.

— if this one stayed with you

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