Saudis to promote kingdom as cultural and scuba diving tourist destination:
Scrappleface could not have done a better job.

Saudi Arabia seems an unlikely destination for fun in the sun.

Yet here was a Saudi prince at a tourism conference in neighbouring Dubai, busily trying to sell his country as a vacation spot - provided visitors don’t expect alcohol, women come robed and everyone refrains from eating in public from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan.

And swinging singles need not apply. Women younger than 40 must be accompanied by their brothers or fathers.

Undaunted, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, until recently accessible to only a handful of non-Muslim tourists, is opening its doors, beckoning curious world travellers to its mysterious and hidden treasures.

The change springs from the new policies of King Abdullah, who ascended the throne last August after the death of his half brother, King Fahd.

Abdullah, a reformer, wants to show that his country is more than just the former home of Osama bin Laden and a breeding ground for Islamic extremism.

“He wants to show the world a different face to the kingdom. It’s all part of a greater plan to open up the country, to show that though it is Arab and Islamic, it is also modern and moderate,” said Mishari al Thaybi, a Saudi writer and analyst for the London-based newspaper Al Sharq al Awsat.

[snip]

*shakes head*

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