The Amsterdam of the Middle East

After reading this, I'm tempted to organize a roadie to Beirut:

Beirut is where the taboos in the region--against alcohol, dating, sex, scandalous clothing, homosexuality, body modification, free speech and dissident politics--break down. Its culture is liberal and tolerant, even anarchic and libertarian. The state barely exists. The city's pleasures are physical and decadent. Beirut is where American and European tourists used to go to loosen up, gamble, drink booze and pick up women--and that was in the 1950s. Today it is where Saudis and other Gulf Arabs like to vacation because they can do, think, wear, and say whatever they want.

More:

Beirut has more in common with raucous freewheeling precommunist Hong Kong than with drab Amman, Damascus and Cairo. The nightclubs, the shopping, the restaurants, the bookstores, the intellectual cafés--these things are all world-class in Beirut. The sight of Lebanon's famously beautiful unveiled Arab women makes a lasting impression on men who travel here from neighboring countries.

Freedom means more than just relieving the boot from your neck. Freedom also means fun and the pursuit of happiness. That's why so many Arabs come here on holiday, and why so many would rather live here. Never forget: demand for Levi's and rock 'n' roll did as much to bring down the Soviet Union as the yearning for Western-style democracy did.