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.
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.