thank you
this is from the link I posted:
Nevertheless, according to an article by BBC News, February 8, 2001,
some alcohol can be found in Saudi Arabia. It can be found among
foreigners who live in special quarters. A favoured route seems to be
for alcohol to be brought into the country in diplomatic bags which
are not checked at entry. Obviously, there is also ordinary smuggling
of alcohol as well as illicit manufacture, despite the severe
penalties.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_1160000/1160846.stm
An article in the Christian Science Monitor, May 10 2001,
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2001/05/10/fp7s2-csm.shtml
says "150,000 cases of spirits, most of it Scotch whisky, are smuggled
into the country every year, with resulting profits of $200 million.
Industry experts believe that 70 percent is consumed by Saudis and the
rest by expatriates... ...80 percent of the smuggled alcohol comes
from the United Arab Emirates. Another 18 percent arrives by the tiny
Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, via the causeway linking it to Saudi
Arabia." A bottle of whisky (Johnnie Walker Black Label) can fetch
$200. Expatriates making bootleg alcohol claim to earn $3000 per week.
This same article does mention that it is permitted to serve alcohol
on the premises of foreign embassies. Presumably, this is because of
the universal convention that embassy premises are considered to be
under the jurisdiction of that country rather than the host country.
Here is the link to news where the menu mentioned >
Saudi King jeered as controversial visit begins - Times Online
SA is an orthodox Sunni Muslim country and do not serve nor consume alcoholic beverages.
