JERUSALEM (AP) — A liquor store has opened in Saudi Arabia for the first time in over 70 years, a diplomat reported Wednesday, a further socially liberalizing step in the once-ultraconservative kingdom that is home to the holiest sites in Islam.
The store sits next to a supermarket in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a socially sensitive topic in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia remains one of the few nations in the world with a ban on alcohol, alongside its neighbor Kuwait and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia has banned alcohol since the early 1950s.
As Saudi Arabia prepares for a $500 billion futuristic city project called Neom, reports have circulated that alcohol could be served at a beach resort there.
Persons:
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, King Abdulaziz, Prince Mishari, Cyril Ousman
Organizations:
JERUSALEM, Washington Post, Workers, Saudi, Arab News, Saudi Research, Media, U.S . State Department, United
Locations:
Saudi Arabia, Islam, Riyadh, Saudi, haram, Islam . Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Jeddah, Mecca, Neom