The Burj Al Arab

Advantages: Read Opp
Disadvantages: Price

...This review is about my time at the magnificent and luxury hotel the Burj Al Arab. I was lucky enough to spend two nights at this hotel during New Years Eve and New Years day 2008/2009. I had a friend who?s dad did a tone of import export business and thus I even managed to stay their for free, yes that?s right for free, under the condition that I paid for all my own food, and drink, which I was more than happy to at the time. Now everyone has either heard about this hotel, been their or at least seen the pictures of what it looks like, and let me tell you its even more breathtaking in real life. This review will hopefully give you an insight into the hotel, information regarding all the rooms in particular the one I stayed in, what the facilities are like, what the food and bar is like as well as the service provided by the hotel...

jaygami1986 12.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai

Arab Tradition in the Air

Advantages: Hospitable and friendly
Disadvantages: None so far!

...purposes. You get a choice of three meals which normally includes one vegetarian. Arabic coffee and dates, which are a traditional Arab guest offering, are also presented to passengers. The meals were nice and and very filling. A typical meal of chicken with rice, includes a cup of water, salad, bread and other small tid-bits. You also get a choice of dessert from ice cream and cake! The flight was smooth and the staff were friendly. When called, they would come to you smiling and would be as helpful as possible. Everytime I requested anything, whether water or a newspaper, the response would be swift. To further illustrate on how Saudi Arabian Airlines strive for customer satisfaction, is the fact on how they have sacrificed around 4 rows of seats at the back of the plane to make space for a prayer room! Overall, I was impressed by...

abdulawwal 11.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Saudi Arabian Airlines

Sexy Saudis

Advantages: Saudi chick lit with a difference
Disadvantages: I can't read Arabic.

...A clique of four college-age women are keen on finding Mr Right, they do get to know men, some are right or at least seem to be, some are so-so, some are as wrong as can be. So far, so uninteresting, the topic has been dealt with ad nauseam, however, what makes this novel outstanding, sensational even, is the fact that it is set in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, the most Islamic of all Islamic countries. I bet you?ve never heard of a chic lit novel that has attracted the attention of the authorities and involved the author in a lawsuit for slandering society. The author, twenty-something Rajaa Alsanea, knows her country well and foresaw trouble, so she had her debut novel published in Lebanon (in 2005); it was immediately banned in Saudi Arabia, but black-market copies are nevertheless - or rather because of this - widely...

MALU 15.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsanea

The Arab Touch

Advantages: Old part of Singapore
Disadvantages: Not very big

...Arab Street in Singapore isn't very big and there isn't that much to see in the area. Historically, Arab traders from Yemen and the Middle East, took up residence in this part of Singapore. Most notable from these Arab traders was Shaikh Mustafa al-Juneid who contributed considerably towards the local community. Arab Street is in an area known as the Arab Quarter. The most famous landmark here is the Sultan Mosque, on North Bridge Road, distinguished by its giant golden dome. It is one of the first mosques to be purposely built in Singapore. Around the mosque are streets with distinctive Arab names such as Baghdad Street, Muscat Street and Haji Lane. These are lined with Muslim restaurants selling Halal food and shops selling Batiks and silks, along with other handicrafts and gift items. The other distinguishing landmark...

abdulawwal 13.11.2002 · Read review
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Review of Arab St (Singapore)

Sex and the Saudi

Advantages: Quite revealing
Disadvantages: Quite badly written

...Many years ago I received a very unexpected marriage proposal from a man I'd met just a couple of hours earlier. I was attending an academic dinner arranged by a friend who thought I deserved a night off from studying and invited me along to make up numbers. My unexpected admirer was an outrageously handsome Saudi Arabian working for an international oil company. Did I flirt? I might have done, but not outrageously. Was I loud and outspoken and a bit shocking - probably, because I can't resist doing that when someone is culturally unused to a woman with an opinion. "I've never met anyone like you before" he said, and I thought to myself, "Yep, I can totally believe that". "Marry me, come to Saudi, you'll never have to work again and I'll brew alcohol in the bath for you". Well I think you'll agree that sort of offer doesn't come...

koshkha 04.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsanea

An overview of Arab History

Advantages: Highly Informative for the layman
Disadvantages: None

...With the current discontent that we see so much of on the news these days, I have been finding myself more and more drawn to gaining an insight to the Arab mind and their rich history. "The Arabs" by Peter Mansfield is a highly informative book which very capably answered this need. The book is in two parts; the first half is a thorough but not overbearing synopsis of Arab History and the second part tells the individual story of each Arab nation. For someone like myself who has until now been fairly ignorant of the goings on in this part of the world, the book has given me a more than satisfactory insight into issues such as the ongoing tensions between Arabs and the people of Israel and the motivations behind the infmaous Iran-Iraq war. I would also recommend this book to those people that are curious about the religion...

Prospero 16.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of The Arabs - Peter Mansfield

Money Job?

Advantages: Some decent beats
Disadvantages: Wack lyrics

...?Money Job? came as an early 2009 mixtape from the rapper Arab (pronounce A-Rab). Long-time friend to Soulja Boy (Tell ?Em), he appeared on his debut album and the pair worked together prior to this as Dem 30/30 Boyz before Soulja Boy blew up as a solo artist in 2007, yet Arab remained by his side at all times and remained signed to the artists S.O.D. (Stacks On Deck) Money Gang label. This mixtape features work from as early as 2006 up to 2009 with him showing what he is personally capable of. 1. ?Comin?? (Intro) 2. ?Pass To Arab? After warming up the set, you see that things lead into a track that was found on Soulja Boy?s debut when Arab was Arab finally able to show his own potential. I felt that it was a fairly strong tune (considering that it was recorded prior to Beezy?s signing to Interscope) and so although it has some...

XICripZ 25.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Money Job - Arab

Lisbon's Oldest Arab Quarter

Advantages: Some of the oldest miradouros in the city offering spectacular views
Disadvantages: Steep Climbs

...Alfama - a district of Lisbon, named by the Moors as Alhama which means springs or hot bath. An atmospheric area filled with mystery; shady streets built and woven into a web of white washed houses with red tiled roofs. A kaleidoscope of flowers, red, purple white, and the wailing sound of Fado. An interesting but yet dangerous place to visit is what I was told many, many years ago on my first trip to Lisbon. I was instructed not to go to the streets of the Alfama on my own and never to reveal any signs of wealth because this area was a den of iniquity. Being inquisitive and rebellious, I wanted to know why the Alfama had this reputation so I took no notice of any warning and made this Arab quarter the first port of call. To be honest to this day I have no idea why it had this reputation - my guess, it was because it was the Arab...

Praski 22.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of Alfama

Of Vikings and Arabs

Advantages: Great battles and an interesting story
Disadvantages: Er, where are the extras?

...This film hasn't really been hyped or even talked about much since it's cinema release, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Still, the premise looked interesting and my wife agreed to it because it had Antonio Banderas' name across the top. The plot centres on Banderas' character, an Arab poet called Ahmed, who fell in love with an important man's wife and had to leave his town. On his travels he becomes a sort of ambassador to other peoples and soon meets up with some Norsemen, who have ways that are strange and different to him (he even needs a translator to understand them) It is while he is a guest of these men that a message is sent to send for 13 warriors to protect a friend's village against a strange evil force. Only 12 stand up and are prepared to fight, leaving Ahmed to become a reluctant conscript to the proceedings. He...

pbyron 22.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of The 13th Warrior (DVD)

Mashallah! Bint Arab!

Advantages: Detailed account of a phenomenal person. Great adventure story.
Disadvantages: None

...about as Gertrude implied we should, educate them first, then let them vote. Personally I doubt it. However, that's partly what I love about Gerty (as only T. E. Lawrence would ever have the temerity to call her). She wasn't always right. So far as her own career was concerned, she never let the fact that she was a woman get in the way. Whatever she took on, she applied herself to wholeheartedly: the London season, an Oxford degree, mountaineering (by which we mean pioneering new alpine routes - in her undergarments mostly), archaeology, learning Arabic, translating poetry, running the Wounded & Missing Enquiry Office (W&MED) during the Great War, not just exploring but meticulously mapping the deserts of the Middle East. When men stood in her way, she simply told them what she thought and carried on regardless. Of course...

hiker 19.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of Daughter of the Desert: The Remarkable Life of Gertrude Bell - Georgina Howell