Quote:
Originally Posted by PA Pride
Good for Beirut; However that picture doesn't exactly inspire a mental image of a real estate boomtown. Looks like two mediocre buildings... Just sayin.
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Just look at the picture from an editor's standpoint: hot girl in skimpy bikini...in an Arab country??? Makes the article much more enticing to the average reader.
But Beruit works because there is so much money in the region and only few places to enjoy it. Even Dubai has started to curb its excess - a trend that has accelerated since the bailout by conservative Abu Dahbi. There are few other places in the Arab/Muslim world to live it up. Even outside of the gulf, things can be restrictive. Remember the fallout when Gwen Stafani and Madonna wanted to perform in Malaysia, simply because of their provocative dress? That makes the picture above all the more fascinating (and IMHO a positive thing).
That said, Beruit is a microcosm of the Arab world. As austlar1 alluded, Beruit - and the entire Arab world is economically, relgiously, and culturally divided.
And as nice is it is to see Beruitis enjoying themselves, this is still the same city that
celebrated the release of convicted child killer Samir Kuntar. Not to get into a whole political thing here just saying how the pictures above are not representative of the entire city. I would guess that those pictured above were not part of the celebrations, but who knows?