Aug 22, 2007
If you've been intrigued by all the hype about Dubai, and are thinking of a trip there, think again...
Turns out that the social policies of Dubai, that fun-loving mini-state of the Middle East, leave a bit to be desired. Last month, according to the Times of London, two young Brits aged 22 and 27, were each sentenced to four years of imprisonment for carrying into Dubai, for their own use, .04 ounce of marijuana (barely enough to make one joint) in one case, and 1.18 grams in the other. Another young British tourist, 25 years of age, was sentenced to the same four years for carrying in his pocket two-thousandths of an ounce -- a bare trace or particle of marijuana, a hardly noticed speck. "I mistakenly forgot it in my pocket", said the evil-doer as he was led away to begin his four years of punishment.
Less than two years ago, the Associated Press a number of homosexuals meeting peacefully in a home of Dubai were arrested and sentenced to jail terms for their sexual orientation, and made to undergo forcibly administered shots of testosterone to rid them of their homosexuality.
No matter how luxurious its hotels, its theme parks of enclosed, artificially-refrigerated ski slopes, its eventual display of the QE2 as a maritime museum (the purchase of the grand old ship by the Emir of Dubai was recently announced), who can enjoy themselves in a place whose morals are those of the fifteenth century, where freedom of speech and advocacy have never been allowed, where young tourists can be hauled before a Sharia court for carrying a few specks of a recreational drug?
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Less than two years ago, the Associated Press a number of homosexuals meeting peacefully in a home of Dubai were arrested and sentenced to jail terms for their sexual orientation, and made to undergo forcibly administered shots of testosterone to rid them of their homosexuality.
No matter how luxurious its hotels, its theme parks of enclosed, artificially-refrigerated ski slopes, its eventual display of the QE2 as a maritime museum (the purchase of the grand old ship by the Emir of Dubai was recently announced), who can enjoy themselves in a place whose morals are those of the fifteenth century, where freedom of speech and advocacy have never been allowed, where young tourists can be hauled before a Sharia court for carrying a few specks of a recreational drug?
Write and read comments about this post.
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
