A secular Arab country on the eastern Mediaterranean with a large Christian minority who live peacefully with their
Muslim neighbours, occasionally maligned by ignorant Americans because they are brainwashed by their government, which doesn't
like the foreign policies of Syria's (admittedly quite repressive) Soviet-style government.
It certainly does have bars (usually located in hotels and hostels), and in any event alcoholic drinks (including
American Whiskey and
high-quality Syrian arak) can be bought quite openly and legally in the shops (unlike in the US ally Saudi Arabia, where such things are so illegal you don't want to know).
Women can also be seen wearing swimsuits there (again, unlike Saudi Arabia, and usually in
popular mixed-sex swimming pools), and dumbasses called Jonas will almost certainly not see their girlfriends raped there, or be treated cruelly because they are not
Muslim for that matter - at least not unless they go around being rude and offensive to everyone else they see.
Admittedly, it is not as vulgar or in-your-face as Beirut, but some
people might think this is a good thing.
"Hey Mum, how come our old neighbour Noor in Syria used to get nervous, whenever his
wife saw him drinking arak at our house?"
"Well, Simon, he is from a
Muslim background, and his
wife is not as secular-minded as he is."
