Thu 28 Apr 2005
With your chauffeur driven Rolls Royce, discreet in-suite check in, private reception desk on every floor and a brigade of highly trained butlers who provide around-the-clock attention, you can be assured of a highly personalised service throughout your stay at the Burj al Arab Hotel hotel in Dubai, which is in the United Arab Emirates. www.Burj Al Arab Hotel.com
Apparently, it’s $50 just to enter the lobby and look around….. Burj al Arab Hotel article.
Of course, this place is just for tourists. Saudi Arabian women can’t visit, at least by themselves. They must be accompanied by a male relative any time they leave the house. They cannot drive, they cannot vote, and they cannot socialize with the opposite sex. They can only go shopping at special hours or at special malls where men are not allowed. They cannot go to school with men, work with men who are not their husbands, even drive in a cab, unless the cab driver is their relative. They can’t attend or have a dinner party, unless it’s just other women, go to the amusement park, go to a museum or the theatre, go see a movie, go to the zoo, go to a restaurant or go anywhere else unaccompanied by their husband or another male relative.
Interesting culture. Wikipedia - Saudi Arabia.
March 26th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Saudi Arabia is a different Islamic country because of the strong western presence there. In fact in most Islamic countries it is the women who run the businesses.
By tradition men worked in the feilds and women sold goods in the market place. A sub culture was formed by the handling of money in this way.
Men are weak, stupid, lazy, and incompent. The Koran puts the burden of purity onto the women because she is the stronger sex. That is why it’s the woman who covers her hair so it is not a temptation for men.
The woman is not without sin. She did lead Adam to be cast out of the garden of Eden. Again that shows the woman’s power over a man.
While doing business in Egypt I learned that you need to keeping asking for who is in charge. The decision maker was always a woman. The culture may seem different, but it is still women who rule the world.
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:13 am
I really liked your saying Mr. Losh..i am a saudi woman who study in US.
I wonder if somebody could help me find informaton about the how the project manager or the international staff of Burj Al Arab dealt with the: Cultural and social differences,language and dialects, religious practices, legal and regulatory requirement.
I will really appreciate if somebody could help me..Thanks a lot..wait to hear from you.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:16 am
I was wondering that myself.
For instance, are there two swimming pools or are the hours for each sex staggered?
What about restaurant dining? Are the sexes allowed to mingle?