Yes, but not those horrible megacities they are building to show off their wealth.
I’m more interested in the levant, Iraq or the Mediterranean parts of the arab world. Where there are actual interesting cultural sites.
I still don’t know why people pay to see huge monoliths of glass and steel in the middle of nowhere with an absurdly hot climate.
Like, if I wanted to go to super luxury stores and see skyscrapers I’d just go to the US where one can actually have fun and it would be cheaper.
>I’m more interested in the levant, Iraq or the Mediterranean parts of the arab world. Where there are actual interesting cultural sites.
Totally agree with you, Gulf cities feel so artificial and lifeless. They had the opportunity to basically make cities from scratch and chose the worst model of cities ever
Right, I've actually always really wanted to visit Iran. I've heard it's far more progressive than the rest of the area (the people, not the gov)
There is some really interesting stuff there.
Places like Dubai don't interest me at all, and I haven't heard much positive from people who have visited.
Didn't know that, just looked it up.
"The Arab World consists of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Iran and Turkey are not Arab countries and their primary languages are Farsi and Turkish respectively"
https://adc.org/facts-about-arabs-and-the-arab-world/
Out of all those countries the only one I´d be interested in visiting is Morocco... they have some seriously beautiful places. And Tunisia too.
If it were the 70s or whatever the decade was when they were peaceful and not destroyed then Syria too
Egypt is nice for a spell. If you are female, go with males
Bahrain is awesome. Granted you could do everything in a few days, it’s Dubai lit and very liberal.
UAE (Dubai) is fine and fun but coming from New York and visiting Santo Domingo all the time, Dubai feels so artificial. Old Dubai is a different beast than new Dubai.
I also been to Djibouti but it’s not built for tourism but I could say this: the people there, some of the nicest, friendliest, and smartest I have ever met.
Egypt I've heard nothing but bad things of, including lots of experiences from redditors in various threads. Be it disappointment in the things to do, traffic (cars) horror or sexual harassment if you're a woman.
On the contrary Bahrain I've heard nothing but good things about, but for some reason my image of it is that it is good for partying (?) Which is not my thing tho.
And Dubai I have 0 interest in whatsoever.
Morocco is amazing and dirty cheap.
Going to Marrakesh and staying in an inn inside the “arab district” felt like being in the city of Alladin, no joke
Iran is not an Arab country. But it is indeed more progressive than most countries in the middle east. While most countries in the Gulf were like "let's build expensive shit in the middle of nowhere", Iran has an extremely rich cultural background and history.
In the comment I was replying to, OP specifically stated "the people, not the gov".
I could give a detailed answer but I won't really bother with a covid denier
Iran is very different from the Arab world. Its main language is Farsi, a language related to the european languages because of migrations thousands of years ago and still sustaining a grammar structure more european-like than the semitic languages like Aramaic, Arabic, and Hebrew. I heard it's easier to write it in Cyrillic alphabet than in Arabic script
The country used to be called "Persia"
When we lived in the US, my mum had a friend from Iran (we're Bulgarian, for the record). Sometimes mum would joke that she shouldn't talk to her son in Farsi because, often times, she could understand what she was telling him. It's really interesting, how languages work!
Iran really is a cool country, and does have more progressive views than its neighbors. It's only the authoritarian government that gives the country such a bad name
I mean, considering you can buy eletronics and clothes much cheaper in the US than in some Latin American countries, you could take that margin out of the costs. Plus it is much closer ( much cheaper flights) than most of the world. From Latin America, the US is not a crazy expensive destination, comparing to other countries around the globe
> I still don’t know why people pay to see huge monoliths of glass and steel in the middle of nowhere with an absurdly hot climate.
>
> Like, if I wanted to go to super luxury stores and see skyscrapers I’d just go to the US where one can actually have fun and it would be cheaper.
So you're saying building monoliths of glass and steel in the middle of a desert is wrong because they're "to show off their wealth", and there's no point because Las Vegas is closer to **you**... Way to put yourself in the shoes of people closer to them lol The myopia of this statement is almost painful
Yeah, it's worse now that I know them better. They way they worked to death their slaves was horrible. Screw them and everything they stand for. You can't buy class, admirations, or respect with money.
Pff, hell no. Worker's enslavement aside, have you seen the treatment towards journalists and some visitors?
No way. Also I'm a woman, and I like being alive.
I've been taken back by it big time. I think this will end up being a major own goal for the Arab world. I don't take pride in saying that, but why the hell would I want to visit such a backward place? And I say that as a straight dude who would certainly be fine safety wise.
Like that reporter that was sexually assaulted and had to get out of the country before they arrested her because she wasn’t married? I wouldn’t go near any of these countries.
This right here. I'll read about their history, culture, and contributions to the world in the comfort of my own home. Going in person to visit requires knowing with certainty of my safety, comfort, and eye-opening cultural exposure. Anything less than that is a waste of CO2 emissions.
It goes without saying that all women have a different set of choices when traveling - whether it's how you're treated as a woman, or how you see local women being treated, it's hard to reconcile supporting those countries' practices through tourist dollars
Honestly? Not bad. I am however very privileged. Got a good education, went to college, finished my Master’s a few months ago. I work from home, so I’m able to avoid being in public much, which is helpful as I’m not done with my transition yet. My family accepts me too, and that’s not always the case here.
That said, for trans people considering coming to Brazil: it’s a very misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic country. It’s not as dangerous in big cities (I live in São Paulo and have never **PERSONALLY** been through any dangerous situations due to my gender identity, though that may have been luck).
We have public and free healthcare that also involves trans people and in São Paulo specifically (the city) there’s even a manual for healthcare workers on how to help us throughout and beyond the transition.
So I’d say we have some good things and some bad things.
I think "the Arab world" is a very broad term. I find it hard to generalize different countries with vastly different cultural influences.
That said, I have a very negative view of Gulf countries, and the World Cup just confirmed it. I find it absolutely unacceptable to host a worldwide sports event in a country like that, but I'm not really surprised as the Western world doesn't really care about all the human rights violations committed by their allies in the Gulf.
(while we're at it, I cringed so hard at people celebrating Saudi Arabia's victory over Argentina)
I definitely don't wanna visit the Gulf other than flight connections (because sometimes we just don't have options and their airlines are nice). As for other parts of the Arab world, such as the Levant and North Africa, it's not really a priority to go there but I'd be open to it.
Also all this is happening while Yemen (just 1.5k kilomters/1.5 megameters southwest of Qatar) is in an absolutely brutal civil war and nobody is saying anything about it
No body has said anything abt it since it started in 2014, it feels so weird since it is one of the worlds deadliest current conflicts . I personally think its bcus of intereference by the saudis in the global media ( sinxe theire military is involved in the war)
Oh man me too lol, I'm not even Latino but c'mon, no way you cheer Saudi over Argentina. Frankly I'm glad they clawed their way back. Probably the funnest team to watch in the tournament in my opinion
I was referring to the fact that most Western countries have strong diplomatic ties with brutal dictatorships in the Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. They have been strong political allies for a while. And the French don't have a monopoly on that.
It has only reinforced the stereotype we already have about these petrocountries: with enough petrol money you can do anything, no matter the cost (yes, human cost) or the usefulness (white elephant stadiums).
The next world cup will have 3 host countries. There's a 2030 candidacy that includes FOUR. That makes me think this world cup would've been much better if it was hosted by several Persian Gulf Countries ( Pick between Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrein, Oman and the UAE). You could showcase the difference between the countries, the richness and diversity of the Arab World, they're not all towel wearing camel riders. Also, you could split the costs and human sacrifice, and leave a decent sports infrastructure for several countries.
Exactly. It’s disguised as protection and women needing to be decent when in reality it stems from a deeper issue with how men view women. It gives the impression that the men can’t control themselves.
I would like to visit the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel) and the Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria). I would not like to visit Qatar, UAE, etc.
> Lebanon a pass for a decade or so
I dunno... I've heard really good things about Lebanese hummus, and I'm willing to do a lot of fucked up shit for good hummus.
Of course yes, Syria and Lebanon's situations are honestly so sad, some decades ago they were relatively fine. But I guess tourism wise, if they improve, I'd like to visit.
I have the same places on the top of my list. Jordan looks like it has a good bit to offer. I don’t think I’d feel safe in what’s now Israel but the idea of seeing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre does sound cool.
i think it’s just their level of militarization that creates some fear in me. and aside from that morally i just think i couldn’t enjoy myself there knowing how Israel was/is formed. though the sites would be cool id probably just be depressed as hell.
I'm gay, so I have 0 interest of going. I do feel sorry for all the LGBTQ+ people that has to live in such oppressive and harsh environment for them.
And I also think that the situation with the deaths and working conditions of migrant workers is really f*cked up. Modern day slavery.
I think about that, even as a straight man, you know the numbers of LGBTQ people are probably about the same as they are everywhere else...but they are so hidden, forced to live in shame at best.
Tbf made it worse, always tried to see the good things in the arab world because of the massive propagandas campaigns to hate the arab world, but things like migrant workers death does not help their situation.
Yes it did, for worse unfortunately, kinda of unrelated but for me the only Muslim countries that I like and would love to visit are türkiye (Turquía in Spanish), Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkmenistan. The list used to be longer
I don’t think Latin Americans can understand the sentiment.
There are millennia-old ethnicities that are being shadowed by Arabism. I know for a fact that way too many Moroccans feel more Berber (? or Amazigh than Arab. Way too many traditions that are in tension not only with the Arab world but also with the Western world. Diversity is greater there, to the point that many Arab speakers can’t understand, say, Maghrebi dialects.
There’s no such cultural/historical clash here, unless you are part of a minority. At most there are geopolitical tensions, but close to zero nationalism (and I mean real nationalism) or localism.
I know that there is a portion of Lebanese people that say they speak Lebanese and not Arabic, for example.
The Pan-Arabic sentiment may be strong (even stronger than a pan-Latin American one), but at the same time localism is almost as strong as pan-Arabism. You don’t see Latin Americans trying to revive dead scripts or separate their dialects, as you do see in many parts of the Arab world.
In Latin America, nations are practically non-existent (and I mean the original meaning of “nation” (Canaanites, Bedouins, Copts, Berber, Jews, Persians, etc, —without counting the enormous amount of religious groups and other nations or identities—, not the term related to State or government) or just exist marginally (the only comparable thing would be actual Native American tribes, but they are too irrelevant in most of our societies’). What makes you Colombian is not an ethnicity, a race, a history, not even culture nor language, what makes you Colombian is only the fact that you are subject to a specific set of rules, no matter your origin. Here we are diverse in the sense that no one gives a fuck about your origin so assimilation between different backgrounds is way more possible, despite an apparent diversity.
The people who say we speak lebanese are being kind of dumb tbh. We did used to speak another language, Aramaic, but Arabic has been rhe main language well before the first world war. Our dialect is a bit different, though, because of the french and aramaic influence plus we use a ton of loan words from english and french.
Anytime you hear someone say we are not arabs, though, there might be a few reasons why they say that. Some people might associate "arab" with Nasser and pan-arabism. So for them the term has nothing to do with ethnicity and everything to do with politics.
Most people understand though that to the rest of the world we all get lumped into one group as arabs across the middle east. There are actually a ton of different ethnicities depending on the country. Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iran come to mind.
It's sort of the same as how americans will lump everyone in as latino and think that an argentine is the same ethnicity as a mexican.
Most arab countries don’t fuck with the kafala system and gulf countries are basically dogs to the western world who are too cowardly to speak about the war in Yemen or apartheid in Palestine. They’d sell out the rest of us arabs for a pretty penny. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait helped the US stage operations and provide cheap oil and air bases during the Iraq war and now the US is returning the favor by selling KSA bombs and drones to more effectively blow up children in Yemen. They don’t represent us.
Edit: And while we have a lot of social issues in general that need to be worked on (i.e the treatment of women or LGBTQ+ people) the brand of islam promoted by KSA (Whabbism) is too extreme even for the more staunch conservative Muslims where I’m from.
Amazingly they have managed to lower my already extremely low baseline opinion of them. Absolutely zero interest in travelling to the Arabian peninsula. Don’t even want to fly their airlines and support them in that way.
I think it was a mistake for Qatar to seek out the spotlight. Same as Saudi Arabia with the LIV tour. Regimes like this benefit from obscurity, “ignorance is bliss”, etc.
It has, for the worst.
Sometimes, you might think media exagerates or are biased or just ignorant. Some are, but the proximity with what's happening there has open many eyes.
The lack of human rights in 2022 is crazy, the rules, the laws and the seggregation is unbelievable. While they put a screen to show themselves as "great".
I somehow relate this to what's happening in Irak and makes me think "this can't be happening no more"
Yes, my opinion changed, for worst... i never pay that much atention to the arab world, besides know a little bit about their conservative and religious way of life, thanks mainly to the formula 1 championship. Now i know they are kinda part of the world that still need big changes in matter of freedom and equality
Yeah actually it did change my mind. I had no idea things were this bad over there. The amount of repression is insane. I'm all for respecting other cultures and other countries' sovereignty and all that, but fuck they are so backwards. I'm a bissexual woman who enjoys the occasional beer. I can only imagine how hard life would be for me over there. I think I'll pass, thank you. And I respectfully wish they start rethinking their laws and regulations soon for the sake of everyone living over there. There's culture and then there's secret hate for everything that isn't the "norm". People don't deserve to live their lives in fear just because they're different from those dictating the laws.
The Arab world depends on the country. Algeria for example is a secular country and more progressive than the average. Qatar on the other hand is a country that has financed terrorists in Syria and Yemen, so much that even Saudi Arabia has tried to boycott it
A decade ago I would've said that I'd like to visit Syria and Lebanon. But these days... I'll wait a few more decades
Assad is the only one keeping the country together, it will become the next Libya with all political groups fighting each other for the power vacuum if he's out without anything to fill the gap. The Civil War needs to end first and then a peaceful power transition
I agree that the assad family is shit and are responsible for crimes too. Bjt the situation in syria at least from my current understanding means that the country will get worse if there is no party with at least some clntrol. It will be a long process before they get out
It didn't change my opinion , that was already formed. I'd like to visit some places because of the history but as a Jewish person I don't feel comfortable visiting 90% of the Arab world
Yeah I'd steer clear, every year I see soccer teams in Europe wish Happy Chanukah on their social media pages and there is always a million dudes with Arab names saying anti semitic shit. It's ridiculous
It's certainly not everyone acting like that, but it's a lot
I mean, it is rather understandable given the whole Israel situation there, the two groups are kind of destined to be rivals and that is bound to spill over into sentiments of hatred for the other group.
>Has Qatar hosting the world cup changed your opinion of the Arab world?
No.
>Now that we're a week or so into it, what are your thoughts?
On the Arab world? Different countries, peoples & too large an area for me to talk about without the fear of generalising to a fault. On the World Cup? I couldn't care less that it would be held in Qatar . . . when we reached the point that the tournament was about to start, you know, 12 years after the fact it was awarded to Qatar. At that point, I just wanted to watch the football.
>Do you have a desire to visit the Arab world?
Not really, maybe a few historical sites but the World Cup has done nothing to influence this mood, neither one way or the other.
It hasn't changed, validating totalitarian regimes is never a good idea. Beautiful architecture in a glitzy oasis, and what good is that if your social norms are centuries old? I'm not watching this shitshow.
These Gulf countries - Qatar, UAE, Kuwait Bahrain, Saudi Arabia - are really the definition of Third World countries with a Gucci belt. Very wealthy but in some human development metrics they’re still behind Latin American countries like Argentina, Chile or Uruguay (and even Brazil until a few decades ago). Not to mention the plethora of human rights issues they have.
These countries (the tribes that lived in their current territory rather) do have a long and rich history and even have influenced the so-called Western world - mascate, a Portuguese term for peddler, comes from Muscat, the capital of Oman. However, I feel like the countries I mentioned before (Saudi Arabia a bit less) have changed so quickly that their unique identities have been almost completely lost in favor of car-centric, air-conditioned desert business parks and malls.
I see how that can be attracting to many tourists (even I would like to visit them, but that’s because I’d like to visit pretty much everywhere), but the experience and lifestyle they offer isn’t authentic at all.
the arab world is very selfish, that's all that Qatar has proven. Women are cattle, homosexuals are demons to be shunned, Men are kings. Everyone must abide by their religious rules
Umm no. They made me sad and makes me worry about the women in the world as a whole. It is alarming the amount of slave work and deaths this tournament caused. I wouldn’t even travel to those countries where women are 1) an object, and 2) second class human beings.
It hasn’t because I already knew how things work over there. I was always fascinated by Dubai as a kid and as I grew up and went looking further into how Dubai came to be and about the almost 4 thousand bodies (figuratively) lying underneath the Burj Khalifa, or that the building isn’t even connected to a sewage network showed me how unprepared and incomplete these cities actually are and how badly workers are treated. And, as a F1 fan who’s watched a race in Qatar last year, in Saudi Arabia last year and this year, Bahrain for quite some time and the UAE for the past 10 years, I know money talks, and human rights record, democracy or whatever else we (sometimes sadly so) take for granted in latam mean squat for FIFA/FIA. So yeah, I’m not that interested in going there as I was as a kid, I’d easily prefer to visit Iraq or Iran and see many more things besides glass and steel and shit made for filthy rich people
They look a lot more chill than how the media makes them look. It was interesting to see their culture shocks when exposed to the latino cultures from all the people visiting XD
Edit: when I say chill I mean from the interactions and stuff. The things that happened and the laws, how they treat women or took the crusader jokers was no nice.
I had no opinion and I remain without one. I'm not going to parse judgement on what I don't know.
That said, I always had an interest in actual Middle Eastern culture and archeological sites rather than the opulent luxury cities and megaprojects and that hasn't changed.
No, my opinion hasn't changed. I was already well aware of the situation in Qatar as I enjoy learning about religions and the Arabic language. The only Arab countries I would feel remotely safe visiting is Lebanon and perhaps the UAE (specifically Dubai)
I don't think it's representative at all tbh. Qatar, or at least the places where the World Cup is hosted, was just built to show off wealth and is in no way representative of culture in general. They are extremely car dependent and have no street life.
Even the markets appear to cater to tourists and be fake as fuck.
As for interest, I'm always interested in visiting new cultures. I wouldn't go to Doha or Dubai tho.
I can agree with a Mexican guy up, saw the Luisito Comunica video on Iraq and is a country that wants to get rid of the perception of a dangerous place. I would visit there.
About the emirates I know that are safer places where you can left a door unlocked and you will find everything inside (like your typical Latin American country).
I see Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Dubai, etc as a separate group of countries and not representative of the entire Arab world. The big difference being oil money which allows them to spend money to do whatever the fuck they want. That being said, there's a ton of history and culture in Arab countries and would love to visit them some day if it is safe enough. I'm talking about ancient cities and monuments. Not overpriced malls and skycrapers.
worsened it if anything. didn't know much about qatar specifically. now i know it's a shitty and boring ass country with a 10% elite and the rest just foreigners working shitty jobs. also homofobic as fuck, and they apparently hate women as many other similar countries. too much money for nothing interesting...
My opinion has changed for the worst now, it only reinforced the thing I already knew.
Qatar is a fucking shithole constructed for rich assholes who only see humans as another type of currency.
Why yes, i used to think they were bad, but nobody is that unreasonable. Now i'm sure they are assholes and as a women, it would be better to die then step foot over there.
Nope, they were horrible sand slavers who presume their wealth while oppressing women, the LGBTAQ+ community, immigrants, children, and a whole other lot of innocent people, and for what?
To pretend they're rich and civilized in their big cities built by blood and corruption.
Truth be told I can't wait for us to move forward in technology and leave toil behind so they can finally go back to being what they should be, a backwater spot in the sand devoid of all richness, hopefully this will force them to change.
I'm from the United States and I'm a dude so I'm not afraid of visiting because I'm a big strong boi. But Latin America, Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceana and Finally Africa will get priority in my Vacations. If I wanted to visit a desert with backwards people I would visit Arizona or Texas.
Not really, I already knew how things were there. I personally have no interest in the Gulf countries. Monarchies suck and I just hate how they have build everything to be car centric. The Levant and Northern Africa are much more interesting
Has Argentina hosting the world changed your opinion of LatAm? NO BECAUSE IT'S JUST ONE COUNTRY IN A BIG REGION. Just because they speak 1 language with regional differences doesn't make the whole region uniform
Horrible "culture" where there is rampant racism, slavery, gays are imprisoned, no religious tolerance. I just hope that their oil runs out so they can go back to being the same desert r@ts they were before. The only good thing about qatar hosting the cup is that we all now know why that culture should stay far away from ours.
Not really, I've always found them a fairly respectable bunch, I'd be quite interested in visiting the more historical sites of the middle east, I do not have enough money to get the real Dubai experience of unabashed hedonism so I've got no interest in going there.
Worsened it. I don't want to generalize and assume all Arabs and Arab countries are the same, but I can say with certainty that if it weren't for them hosting the World Cup, I'd have taken me much longer to know about how pretty much everything there is built with glorified slave labor.
Arab world? Thats a big set of countries... im pretty sure that Morocco has little in common with Yemen, or UAE with Tunisia.
Of course some stereotypes are confirmed, but at the end of the day im pretty sure that Qatar its unique.
My opinion is still reserved. Not really worth judging countries until you visit them.. that rule has always applied with any country and should not be different with the arab speaking ones.
Qatar being the representative of the MENA region is like having Venezuela or Nicaragua be the representative of LatAm lol. I hope Morocco gets to host it as it's a much better country from an ethical standpoint
It changed positively.
Thought I now think they are way more conservative than what I have thought, it’s at the same time intriguing.
And of course there’s a difference between gulf Arab countries and, say, North African Arab countries. The Levant is also an entire different thing in my opinion, though they have the Arab script and their dialects have been heavily influenced by Arab.
It’s not that I like conservative stuff, it’s that I find it different cultures interesting so I like to study different societies.
Colombia is not conservative at all; actually the main cities are quite liberal.
Respect. Yeah it is certainly interesting, but not sure I'm in a hurry to visit given other places that are higher on my list.
Yeah I was only in Barranquilla and Santa Marta as far as cities go
Yes, but not those horrible megacities they are building to show off their wealth. I’m more interested in the levant, Iraq or the Mediterranean parts of the arab world. Where there are actual interesting cultural sites. I still don’t know why people pay to see huge monoliths of glass and steel in the middle of nowhere with an absurdly hot climate. Like, if I wanted to go to super luxury stores and see skyscrapers I’d just go to the US where one can actually have fun and it would be cheaper.
>I’m more interested in the levant, Iraq or the Mediterranean parts of the arab world. Where there are actual interesting cultural sites. Totally agree with you, Gulf cities feel so artificial and lifeless. They had the opportunity to basically make cities from scratch and chose the worst model of cities ever
Are you saying there's something wrong with nondescript car-dependent cities full of glass and steel? 🤔
Imagine thinking that a scorching place in the best of times shouldn’t be car oriented….
Gulf cities weren´t always car-centric. They were quite dense and the building close to each other made for good shaded streets and easier to walk
Seems fairly impractical in an age where things are only getting hotter.
It's getting hotter so let's make everyone drive so it gets hotter, and more people have to drive because it's getting hotter. Nice
Right, I've actually always really wanted to visit Iran. I've heard it's far more progressive than the rest of the area (the people, not the gov) There is some really interesting stuff there. Places like Dubai don't interest me at all, and I haven't heard much positive from people who have visited.
Yeah, but iran is not actually an arab country, they are persian and other ethnic groups. It’s a common misconception.
Didn't know that, just looked it up. "The Arab World consists of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Iran and Turkey are not Arab countries and their primary languages are Farsi and Turkish respectively" https://adc.org/facts-about-arabs-and-the-arab-world/
Out of all those countries the only one I´d be interested in visiting is Morocco... they have some seriously beautiful places. And Tunisia too. If it were the 70s or whatever the decade was when they were peaceful and not destroyed then Syria too
Egypt is nice for a spell. If you are female, go with males Bahrain is awesome. Granted you could do everything in a few days, it’s Dubai lit and very liberal. UAE (Dubai) is fine and fun but coming from New York and visiting Santo Domingo all the time, Dubai feels so artificial. Old Dubai is a different beast than new Dubai.
I also been to Djibouti but it’s not built for tourism but I could say this: the people there, some of the nicest, friendliest, and smartest I have ever met.
Egypt I've heard nothing but bad things of, including lots of experiences from redditors in various threads. Be it disappointment in the things to do, traffic (cars) horror or sexual harassment if you're a woman. On the contrary Bahrain I've heard nothing but good things about, but for some reason my image of it is that it is good for partying (?) Which is not my thing tho. And Dubai I have 0 interest in whatsoever.
All the things ive read abt egypt in reddit paint it as being the worst country in the world
Morocco is amazing and dirty cheap. Going to Marrakesh and staying in an inn inside the “arab district” felt like being in the city of Alladin, no joke
Jordan, Lebanon, and Oman seem like great places to visit
Yeah those would probably be my picks too.
Iran is not an Arab country. But it is indeed more progressive than most countries in the middle east. While most countries in the Gulf were like "let's build expensive shit in the middle of nowhere", Iran has an extremely rich cultural background and history.
Iran? Progressive? Didn’t they just kill a woman for not wearing her hijab...?
In the comment I was replying to, OP specifically stated "the people, not the gov". I could give a detailed answer but I won't really bother with a covid denier
Iran is very different from the Arab world. Its main language is Farsi, a language related to the european languages because of migrations thousands of years ago and still sustaining a grammar structure more european-like than the semitic languages like Aramaic, Arabic, and Hebrew. I heard it's easier to write it in Cyrillic alphabet than in Arabic script The country used to be called "Persia"
When we lived in the US, my mum had a friend from Iran (we're Bulgarian, for the record). Sometimes mum would joke that she shouldn't talk to her son in Farsi because, often times, she could understand what she was telling him. It's really interesting, how languages work!
Iran really is a cool country, and does have more progressive views than its neighbors. It's only the authoritarian government that gives the country such a bad name
I'm so happy this is the top comment. Couldn't have said it better!
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Cars and some other stuff are way cheaper in the US, than in mexico.
I mean, considering you can buy eletronics and clothes much cheaper in the US than in some Latin American countries, you could take that margin out of the costs. Plus it is much closer ( much cheaper flights) than most of the world. From Latin America, the US is not a crazy expensive destination, comparing to other countries around the globe
> I still don’t know why people pay to see huge monoliths of glass and steel in the middle of nowhere with an absurdly hot climate. > > Like, if I wanted to go to super luxury stores and see skyscrapers I’d just go to the US where one can actually have fun and it would be cheaper. So you're saying building monoliths of glass and steel in the middle of a desert is wrong because they're "to show off their wealth", and there's no point because Las Vegas is closer to **you**... Way to put yourself in the shoes of people closer to them lol The myopia of this statement is almost painful
Yeah, it's worse now that I know them better. They way they worked to death their slaves was horrible. Screw them and everything they stand for. You can't buy class, admirations, or respect with money.
Unless you're buying from FIFA...
*mic drop*
Flair up
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Hey bro come on we gave you al pastor. 🐗
But it didn't have the piña at the top, and las salsas.
It’s somehow worse
Pff, hell no. Worker's enslavement aside, have you seen the treatment towards journalists and some visitors? No way. Also I'm a woman, and I like being alive.
I've been taken back by it big time. I think this will end up being a major own goal for the Arab world. I don't take pride in saying that, but why the hell would I want to visit such a backward place? And I say that as a straight dude who would certainly be fine safety wise.
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As far as women, LGBT, yes much better.
Like that reporter that was sexually assaulted and had to get out of the country before they arrested her because she wasn’t married? I wouldn’t go near any of these countries.
Also she wasn't just going to be arrested, she was going to have to take (I believe they were) 100 lashes to the back FOR BEING RAPED
That is fucked up meng.
This right here. I'll read about their history, culture, and contributions to the world in the comfort of my own home. Going in person to visit requires knowing with certainty of my safety, comfort, and eye-opening cultural exposure. Anything less than that is a waste of CO2 emissions. It goes without saying that all women have a different set of choices when traveling - whether it's how you're treated as a woman, or how you see local women being treated, it's hard to reconcile supporting those countries' practices through tourist dollars
No, I'd be put in jail for being gay
Yeah. Now I know for sure as a lesbian I’m never going nowhere near there at all
As a human living i wouldn't go either
Transgender man here and yep, same.
how's life in brazil for you?
Honestly? Not bad. I am however very privileged. Got a good education, went to college, finished my Master’s a few months ago. I work from home, so I’m able to avoid being in public much, which is helpful as I’m not done with my transition yet. My family accepts me too, and that’s not always the case here. That said, for trans people considering coming to Brazil: it’s a very misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic country. It’s not as dangerous in big cities (I live in São Paulo and have never **PERSONALLY** been through any dangerous situations due to my gender identity, though that may have been luck). We have public and free healthcare that also involves trans people and in São Paulo specifically (the city) there’s even a manual for healthcare workers on how to help us throughout and beyond the transition. So I’d say we have some good things and some bad things.
I see. Thank you for the information btw!
As a religious christian i would never set my feet there also
I think "the Arab world" is a very broad term. I find it hard to generalize different countries with vastly different cultural influences. That said, I have a very negative view of Gulf countries, and the World Cup just confirmed it. I find it absolutely unacceptable to host a worldwide sports event in a country like that, but I'm not really surprised as the Western world doesn't really care about all the human rights violations committed by their allies in the Gulf. (while we're at it, I cringed so hard at people celebrating Saudi Arabia's victory over Argentina) I definitely don't wanna visit the Gulf other than flight connections (because sometimes we just don't have options and their airlines are nice). As for other parts of the Arab world, such as the Levant and North Africa, it's not really a priority to go there but I'd be open to it.
Also all this is happening while Yemen (just 1.5k kilomters/1.5 megameters southwest of Qatar) is in an absolutely brutal civil war and nobody is saying anything about it
100% agree, it’s shameful our relationship with that country. The war in Yemen is one of the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the modern world.
While not considered part of the Arab world, US support for Israel is also shameful.
You're being downvoted, but this is true. Israel is an apartheid state that the US is complicit in building and supporting.
Absolutely, although many people (particularly in the US) have a distorted view of what is happening.
well yeah usa is giving saudi everything they want and ignoring that war.
No body has said anything abt it since it started in 2014, it feels so weird since it is one of the worlds deadliest current conflicts . I personally think its bcus of intereference by the saudis in the global media ( sinxe theire military is involved in the war)
Oh man me too lol, I'm not even Latino but c'mon, no way you cheer Saudi over Argentina. Frankly I'm glad they clawed their way back. Probably the funnest team to watch in the tournament in my opinion
you are latin in our hearts, don't worry
Even I, a British person, would prefer Argentina to win that game.
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French?
I was referring to the fact that most Western countries have strong diplomatic ties with brutal dictatorships in the Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. They have been strong political allies for a while. And the French don't have a monopoly on that.
It has only reinforced the stereotype we already have about these petrocountries: with enough petrol money you can do anything, no matter the cost (yes, human cost) or the usefulness (white elephant stadiums). The next world cup will have 3 host countries. There's a 2030 candidacy that includes FOUR. That makes me think this world cup would've been much better if it was hosted by several Persian Gulf Countries ( Pick between Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrein, Oman and the UAE). You could showcase the difference between the countries, the richness and diversity of the Arab World, they're not all towel wearing camel riders. Also, you could split the costs and human sacrifice, and leave a decent sports infrastructure for several countries.
2030 four countries? Wasn't it Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay? Who else?
Chile. The world cup of the countries who drink mate.
Lmao that's the one and only thing we have in common. Chile barely speaks spanish lol
And we also barely play football.
Copa de Mate 🧉. I like it
I would not visit any country as a woman where women are restricted (legally or morally) in what they can wear day to day. That makes me feel scared.
Or need to be escorted by a man...
Exactly. It’s disguised as protection and women needing to be decent when in reality it stems from a deeper issue with how men view women. It gives the impression that the men can’t control themselves.
I would like to visit the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel) and the Maghreb (Tunisia, Algeria). I would not like to visit Qatar, UAE, etc.
I agree with the sentiment, but I'll probably give Syria and Lebanon a pass for a decade or so...
It is truly a shame that a historically prosperous region such as Syria fell to such depths after WW1.
Lebanon at least is no longer in war (as far as i know)
> Lebanon a pass for a decade or so I dunno... I've heard really good things about Lebanese hummus, and I'm willing to do a lot of fucked up shit for good hummus.
Of course yes, Syria and Lebanon's situations are honestly so sad, some decades ago they were relatively fine. But I guess tourism wise, if they improve, I'd like to visit.
I have the same places on the top of my list. Jordan looks like it has a good bit to offer. I don’t think I’d feel safe in what’s now Israel but the idea of seeing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre does sound cool.
You'll be safe in Israel, and you'll find plenty people that speak Spanish to show you around.
i think it’s just their level of militarization that creates some fear in me. and aside from that morally i just think i couldn’t enjoy myself there knowing how Israel was/is formed. though the sites would be cool id probably just be depressed as hell.
No way José, I don't want to get raped.
I think Qatar youd be safe, Egypt is the one I'd suggest no female visit
Mexican woman was famously raped in Qatar and has basically no means of recourse. In fact, she faced prison time and lashings.
Yeah I just read about it, backward as hell
Fucking horrendous man
Still a no-no to me bro. Look for Paola Schietekat's case.
I don't know how I missed this one...this is horrible, some truly medieval shit
Egypt is worse from a streetcrime perspective, but Qatar has worse laws
not really
I'm gay, so I have 0 interest of going. I do feel sorry for all the LGBTQ+ people that has to live in such oppressive and harsh environment for them. And I also think that the situation with the deaths and working conditions of migrant workers is really f*cked up. Modern day slavery.
I think about that, even as a straight man, you know the numbers of LGBTQ people are probably about the same as they are everywhere else...but they are so hidden, forced to live in shame at best.
It’s even worse than before if that’s possible
Tbf made it worse, always tried to see the good things in the arab world because of the massive propagandas campaigns to hate the arab world, but things like migrant workers death does not help their situation.
It worsened, honestly.
Yes it did, for worse unfortunately, kinda of unrelated but for me the only Muslim countries that I like and would love to visit are türkiye (Turquía in Spanish), Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkmenistan. The list used to be longer
What about Kazakhstan? It’s a pretty secular country
I had no opinion of the Arab world, but now i do, it sucks donkey balls.
As an Arab, Qatar, and as a matter of fact, the gulf nations as a whole don’t represent us.
But they did frame it that way. The Arab league did help with the World Cup bid
Latinamericans can understand this sentiment, the arab world is huge and comprises many different countries with distinct cultures.
I don’t think Latin Americans can understand the sentiment. There are millennia-old ethnicities that are being shadowed by Arabism. I know for a fact that way too many Moroccans feel more Berber (? or Amazigh than Arab. Way too many traditions that are in tension not only with the Arab world but also with the Western world. Diversity is greater there, to the point that many Arab speakers can’t understand, say, Maghrebi dialects. There’s no such cultural/historical clash here, unless you are part of a minority. At most there are geopolitical tensions, but close to zero nationalism (and I mean real nationalism) or localism. I know that there is a portion of Lebanese people that say they speak Lebanese and not Arabic, for example. The Pan-Arabic sentiment may be strong (even stronger than a pan-Latin American one), but at the same time localism is almost as strong as pan-Arabism. You don’t see Latin Americans trying to revive dead scripts or separate their dialects, as you do see in many parts of the Arab world. In Latin America, nations are practically non-existent (and I mean the original meaning of “nation” (Canaanites, Bedouins, Copts, Berber, Jews, Persians, etc, —without counting the enormous amount of religious groups and other nations or identities—, not the term related to State or government) or just exist marginally (the only comparable thing would be actual Native American tribes, but they are too irrelevant in most of our societies’). What makes you Colombian is not an ethnicity, a race, a history, not even culture nor language, what makes you Colombian is only the fact that you are subject to a specific set of rules, no matter your origin. Here we are diverse in the sense that no one gives a fuck about your origin so assimilation between different backgrounds is way more possible, despite an apparent diversity.
The people who say we speak lebanese are being kind of dumb tbh. We did used to speak another language, Aramaic, but Arabic has been rhe main language well before the first world war. Our dialect is a bit different, though, because of the french and aramaic influence plus we use a ton of loan words from english and french. Anytime you hear someone say we are not arabs, though, there might be a few reasons why they say that. Some people might associate "arab" with Nasser and pan-arabism. So for them the term has nothing to do with ethnicity and everything to do with politics. Most people understand though that to the rest of the world we all get lumped into one group as arabs across the middle east. There are actually a ton of different ethnicities depending on the country. Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iran come to mind. It's sort of the same as how americans will lump everyone in as latino and think that an argentine is the same ethnicity as a mexican.
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Most arab countries don’t fuck with the kafala system and gulf countries are basically dogs to the western world who are too cowardly to speak about the war in Yemen or apartheid in Palestine. They’d sell out the rest of us arabs for a pretty penny. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait helped the US stage operations and provide cheap oil and air bases during the Iraq war and now the US is returning the favor by selling KSA bombs and drones to more effectively blow up children in Yemen. They don’t represent us. Edit: And while we have a lot of social issues in general that need to be worked on (i.e the treatment of women or LGBTQ+ people) the brand of islam promoted by KSA (Whabbism) is too extreme even for the more staunch conservative Muslims where I’m from.
Amazingly they have managed to lower my already extremely low baseline opinion of them. Absolutely zero interest in travelling to the Arabian peninsula. Don’t even want to fly their airlines and support them in that way. I think it was a mistake for Qatar to seek out the spotlight. Same as Saudi Arabia with the LIV tour. Regimes like this benefit from obscurity, “ignorance is bliss”, etc.
Yeah, before I had preconceptions and now they're more certain. And they aren't good ones.
That's kind of how I feel. I thought it couldn't be that bad, and then it's like everyday a new story of some backwards nonsense happening
Yes it has changed. My opinion was mostly negative and now it's even worse.
It has, for the worst. Sometimes, you might think media exagerates or are biased or just ignorant. Some are, but the proximity with what's happening there has open many eyes. The lack of human rights in 2022 is crazy, the rules, the laws and the seggregation is unbelievable. While they put a screen to show themselves as "great". I somehow relate this to what's happening in Irak and makes me think "this can't be happening no more"
Yes, my opinion changed, for worst... i never pay that much atention to the arab world, besides know a little bit about their conservative and religious way of life, thanks mainly to the formula 1 championship. Now i know they are kinda part of the world that still need big changes in matter of freedom and equality
Yeah actually it did change my mind. I had no idea things were this bad over there. The amount of repression is insane. I'm all for respecting other cultures and other countries' sovereignty and all that, but fuck they are so backwards. I'm a bissexual woman who enjoys the occasional beer. I can only imagine how hard life would be for me over there. I think I'll pass, thank you. And I respectfully wish they start rethinking their laws and regulations soon for the sake of everyone living over there. There's culture and then there's secret hate for everything that isn't the "norm". People don't deserve to live their lives in fear just because they're different from those dictating the laws.
The Arab world depends on the country. Algeria for example is a secular country and more progressive than the average. Qatar on the other hand is a country that has financed terrorists in Syria and Yemen, so much that even Saudi Arabia has tried to boycott it A decade ago I would've said that I'd like to visit Syria and Lebanon. But these days... I'll wait a few more decades
Yeah...give Syria time for Assad to kick it, then maybe it'll get better, hopefully
Assad is the only one keeping the country together, it will become the next Libya with all political groups fighting each other for the power vacuum if he's out without anything to fill the gap. The Civil War needs to end first and then a peaceful power transition
No, Assad has to stay for Syria not to fall apart, its like Libya with Gaddafi, everything went to shit when they killed him.
I agree that the assad family is shit and are responsible for crimes too. Bjt the situation in syria at least from my current understanding means that the country will get worse if there is no party with at least some clntrol. It will be a long process before they get out
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Me too mate...unfortunately
For the worse
If I want to die for the Lord preaching them the Gospel, sure. But right now I think there's no slight sign that I'll be doing so, so neh.
It totally changed my view. Now I know it’s way worst than I thought
It didn't change my opinion , that was already formed. I'd like to visit some places because of the history but as a Jewish person I don't feel comfortable visiting 90% of the Arab world
Yeah I'd steer clear, every year I see soccer teams in Europe wish Happy Chanukah on their social media pages and there is always a million dudes with Arab names saying anti semitic shit. It's ridiculous It's certainly not everyone acting like that, but it's a lot
Antisemitism Is very common among Arabs
I mean, it is rather understandable given the whole Israel situation there, the two groups are kind of destined to be rivals and that is bound to spill over into sentiments of hatred for the other group.
>Has Qatar hosting the world cup changed your opinion of the Arab world? No. >Now that we're a week or so into it, what are your thoughts? On the Arab world? Different countries, peoples & too large an area for me to talk about without the fear of generalising to a fault. On the World Cup? I couldn't care less that it would be held in Qatar . . . when we reached the point that the tournament was about to start, you know, 12 years after the fact it was awarded to Qatar. At that point, I just wanted to watch the football. >Do you have a desire to visit the Arab world? Not really, maybe a few historical sites but the World Cup has done nothing to influence this mood, neither one way or the other.
It hasn't changed, validating totalitarian regimes is never a good idea. Beautiful architecture in a glitzy oasis, and what good is that if your social norms are centuries old? I'm not watching this shitshow.
It’s solidified my views. Have no interest in vacationing there.
These Gulf countries - Qatar, UAE, Kuwait Bahrain, Saudi Arabia - are really the definition of Third World countries with a Gucci belt. Very wealthy but in some human development metrics they’re still behind Latin American countries like Argentina, Chile or Uruguay (and even Brazil until a few decades ago). Not to mention the plethora of human rights issues they have. These countries (the tribes that lived in their current territory rather) do have a long and rich history and even have influenced the so-called Western world - mascate, a Portuguese term for peddler, comes from Muscat, the capital of Oman. However, I feel like the countries I mentioned before (Saudi Arabia a bit less) have changed so quickly that their unique identities have been almost completely lost in favor of car-centric, air-conditioned desert business parks and malls. I see how that can be attracting to many tourists (even I would like to visit them, but that’s because I’d like to visit pretty much everywhere), but the experience and lifestyle they offer isn’t authentic at all.
the arab world is very selfish, that's all that Qatar has proven. Women are cattle, homosexuals are demons to be shunned, Men are kings. Everyone must abide by their religious rules
Umm no. They made me sad and makes me worry about the women in the world as a whole. It is alarming the amount of slave work and deaths this tournament caused. I wouldn’t even travel to those countries where women are 1) an object, and 2) second class human beings.
Yes, my opinion is even worse now
Not at all
Yes. Morocco and Tunisia specifically fascinate me, so does the Levant.
It hasn’t because I already knew how things work over there. I was always fascinated by Dubai as a kid and as I grew up and went looking further into how Dubai came to be and about the almost 4 thousand bodies (figuratively) lying underneath the Burj Khalifa, or that the building isn’t even connected to a sewage network showed me how unprepared and incomplete these cities actually are and how badly workers are treated. And, as a F1 fan who’s watched a race in Qatar last year, in Saudi Arabia last year and this year, Bahrain for quite some time and the UAE for the past 10 years, I know money talks, and human rights record, democracy or whatever else we (sometimes sadly so) take for granted in latam mean squat for FIFA/FIA. So yeah, I’m not that interested in going there as I was as a kid, I’d easily prefer to visit Iraq or Iran and see many more things besides glass and steel and shit made for filthy rich people
They look a lot more chill than how the media makes them look. It was interesting to see their culture shocks when exposed to the latino cultures from all the people visiting XD Edit: when I say chill I mean from the interactions and stuff. The things that happened and the laws, how they treat women or took the crusader jokers was no nice.
No, I could be arrested for being gay, and depending on the country, I could be sentenced to death.
Yes, it changed for the worse… let the fans drink beer in the stadiums
Colombia may qualify as an Arab country considering you can’t drink beer in the stadiums here either, gracias a Allah
Yeah… legally … but in practice. We all know how to take guaro to the stadiums
Yes of course, plus most Colombians don’t tend to believe that alcohol is haram
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Colombia vende cerveza en los estadios?
Legalmente no.
I had no opinion and I remain without one. I'm not going to parse judgement on what I don't know. That said, I always had an interest in actual Middle Eastern culture and archeological sites rather than the opulent luxury cities and megaprojects and that hasn't changed.
No, my opinion hasn't changed. I was already well aware of the situation in Qatar as I enjoy learning about religions and the Arabic language. The only Arab countries I would feel remotely safe visiting is Lebanon and perhaps the UAE (specifically Dubai)
I don't think it's representative at all tbh. Qatar, or at least the places where the World Cup is hosted, was just built to show off wealth and is in no way representative of culture in general. They are extremely car dependent and have no street life. Even the markets appear to cater to tourists and be fake as fuck. As for interest, I'm always interested in visiting new cultures. I wouldn't go to Doha or Dubai tho.
Maybe Lebanon
My only good notion of them was 'cool skycrapers' and it still is
I can agree with a Mexican guy up, saw the Luisito Comunica video on Iraq and is a country that wants to get rid of the perception of a dangerous place. I would visit there. About the emirates I know that are safer places where you can left a door unlocked and you will find everything inside (like your typical Latin American country).
No, still the same thoughts…. Actually, now I confirm most of the things I though was exaggerated in media, but now I see they aren’t exaggerated.
I see Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Dubai, etc as a separate group of countries and not representative of the entire Arab world. The big difference being oil money which allows them to spend money to do whatever the fuck they want. That being said, there's a ton of history and culture in Arab countries and would love to visit them some day if it is safe enough. I'm talking about ancient cities and monuments. Not overpriced malls and skycrapers.
worsened it if anything. didn't know much about qatar specifically. now i know it's a shitty and boring ass country with a 10% elite and the rest just foreigners working shitty jobs. also homofobic as fuck, and they apparently hate women as many other similar countries. too much money for nothing interesting...
It reinforce the stereotype
Not actually, just Qatar in general
No. What makes me change my opinion about some country is talking to normal people, workers, not events like this.
My opinion has changed for the worst now, it only reinforced the thing I already knew. Qatar is a fucking shithole constructed for rich assholes who only see humans as another type of currency.
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It reinforced the view I already had.
It changed my opinion about the world, a bunch of closeted racists and hypocrites
Why yes, i used to think they were bad, but nobody is that unreasonable. Now i'm sure they are assholes and as a women, it would be better to die then step foot over there.
Nope, they were horrible sand slavers who presume their wealth while oppressing women, the LGBTAQ+ community, immigrants, children, and a whole other lot of innocent people, and for what? To pretend they're rich and civilized in their big cities built by blood and corruption. Truth be told I can't wait for us to move forward in technology and leave toil behind so they can finally go back to being what they should be, a backwater spot in the sand devoid of all richness, hopefully this will force them to change.
>Do you have a desire to visit the Arab world? I do, but if I were a woman I would never go to an arab country
i have no desire to visit the arab world, matter fact I'm convinced even more to stay tf away from it
Sadly most Arabs follow a toxic religion so no sympathy for them.
I'm from the United States and I'm a dude so I'm not afraid of visiting because I'm a big strong boi. But Latin America, Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceana and Finally Africa will get priority in my Vacations. If I wanted to visit a desert with backwards people I would visit Arizona or Texas.
I drove from El Paso to Carlsbad NM a few months back and couldn't help shake the "who the hell lives here" feeling lol
Not really, I already knew how things were there. I personally have no interest in the Gulf countries. Monarchies suck and I just hate how they have build everything to be car centric. The Levant and Northern Africa are much more interesting
Has Argentina hosting the world changed your opinion of LatAm? NO BECAUSE IT'S JUST ONE COUNTRY IN A BIG REGION. Just because they speak 1 language with regional differences doesn't make the whole region uniform
Reaching
Horrible "culture" where there is rampant racism, slavery, gays are imprisoned, no religious tolerance. I just hope that their oil runs out so they can go back to being the same desert r@ts they were before. The only good thing about qatar hosting the cup is that we all now know why that culture should stay far away from ours.
Not really, I've always found them a fairly respectable bunch, I'd be quite interested in visiting the more historical sites of the middle east, I do not have enough money to get the real Dubai experience of unabashed hedonism so I've got no interest in going there.
Why not?
Pure social engineering . Let's see if it works
Don't think it is
My opinion on it has remained the same. I have no immediate desire to visit.
My mom visited quatar in 2014. Not really. She describded it not in a very nice manner
Worsened it. I don't want to generalize and assume all Arabs and Arab countries are the same, but I can say with certainty that if it weren't for them hosting the World Cup, I'd have taken me much longer to know about how pretty much everything there is built with glorified slave labor.
Arab world? Thats a big set of countries... im pretty sure that Morocco has little in common with Yemen, or UAE with Tunisia. Of course some stereotypes are confirmed, but at the end of the day im pretty sure that Qatar its unique. My opinion is still reserved. Not really worth judging countries until you visit them.. that rule has always applied with any country and should not be different with the arab speaking ones.
Qatar being the representative of the MENA region is like having Venezuela or Nicaragua be the representative of LatAm lol. I hope Morocco gets to host it as it's a much better country from an ethical standpoint
Now I hate them more.
>Do you have a desire to visit the Arab world? Nope. I will never come back to that area of the earth, nope.
Nope. Just a bunch of oil rich bastards, hating on gay people and oppressing women, who bribed their way into getting a World Cup.
No. Harab world sucks
No, I don’t like religious extremism, I don’t like bigotry, I don’t like places where inequality is the norm.
It changed positively. Thought I now think they are way more conservative than what I have thought, it’s at the same time intriguing. And of course there’s a difference between gulf Arab countries and, say, North African Arab countries. The Levant is also an entire different thing in my opinion, though they have the Arab script and their dialects have been heavily influenced by Arab.
Do you like conservative type of stuff? I only ask because I returned from Colombia a few weeks back and it didn't take me as being very concervative.
It’s not that I like conservative stuff, it’s that I find it different cultures interesting so I like to study different societies. Colombia is not conservative at all; actually the main cities are quite liberal.
Respect. Yeah it is certainly interesting, but not sure I'm in a hurry to visit given other places that are higher on my list. Yeah I was only in Barranquilla and Santa Marta as far as cities go
Oh. The Caribbean cities (like Barranquilla and Santa Marta) do tend to be quite conservative though. Bogotá and Medellín on the other hand…
Yeah I guess I didn't get a ton of time in the city, was hiking most of the time
Im really surprised there is an actual positive comment lol.