Saudi Arabia has opened its first alcohol store in the diplomatic quarter of its capital Riyadh, two sources told CNBC.
The news, which has not been officially confirmed by the Saudi government, marks a major breakthrough for the highly conservative Muslim theocracy where alcohol has been banned since 1952.
According to a list of store rules seen by CNBC, the venue is only accessible to non-Muslim diplomats, and authorization must be validated through an app called Diplo.
No guests or people under the age of 21 are allowed to accompany authorized visitors to the store, photography is strictly prohibited and mobile phones need to be kept in secure “mobile pouches” so as not to be used while in the store. Purchases are also subject to a monthly quota system per registered individual.
I wonder what the mobile phones thing is about?
I assume enforcing the no photography rule?
they dont want to accidentally get caught killing people on camera, again.
Right yes
Would it be because they don’t want posts on social media about it, or for the privacy of people buying it, etc.
Funny bc you can get alcohol easily in KSA, drugs too.
Last time I shared this I was downvoted to hell but I’ll say it again because it’s the truth:
My good friend in Saudi works for a firm that frequently works for the Prince. He claims that the Prince is trying to progress a more inclusive and tolerant culture in modern Saudi Arabia.
Obviously there’s a ton of issues with the way they conduct government right now. But at least it’s worth noting that there is talk of positive change. It has to start somewhere.
Peter Santinello is a guy on YouTube who does very genuine interviews with people from all walks of life. He has a short series in Saudi Arabia where he talks with all kinds of people, including women. They talk about how women driving became a thing and you can see how modern some cities are. Women are not even wearing a headscarf everywhere.
Definitely recommended to watch if you want to get a different view on the country than the perspective you get from most western media.
MBS still murdered Khashoggi on foreign soil tho.
No amount of positive media will erase that.
And Obama murdered hundreds of civilians with drones, yet we’re still able to acknowledge the freedoms that American people have.
