Ramadan phenomenon: sneaking off to the liquor store

About a week before Ramadan, I paid $100 for the privilege of being allowed to purchase alcohol in the UAE. My liquor license is about half the size of a passport, complete with photo and passport-like pages. Supposedly, over the course of a year, the pages will be filled with evidence of my sojourns to local liquor store, as foreign a locale to the citizens of the UAE as Amsterdam or Peoria.

The best liquor store in town (and the only one I've been to so far) is actually right around the corner, across a parking lot, down a side street and in the second alley after the construction site. It looks for all the world like an old-fashion gay bar, with a very discreet sign and completely blackened windows. Inside is a duty-free shop wedged into a heavily air-conditioned brick cellar. The whole place is filled with alcohol from all corners of the globe, including a small, expensive shelf of California wine (the South African, Italian and Australian stuff is much cheaper) and decent selection of beer and hard liquor.

It shouldn't feel any different than heading down to the local Carrefour grocery store or to Ikea. But it does because it is so clearly not a part of the culture here. K and I went today and were advised by a colleague to be discreet about carrying the bottles home during Ramadan. To be honest, it's hard to be any more discreet than ducking down an alley and emerging with a bag made from no-way-can-you-see-through-this black plastic. I walked extra carefully so as not to clink even once. No one on the street raised an eyebrow or said a word.

As for the prices, they are also surprisingly reasonable. I was expecting to have to save up, but a decent bottle of Australian wine--or prosecco, my favorite type of Italian champagne!--costs about $15. More than I'd spend at Trader Joe's, but not crazy. Beer is sold by the bottle, as well as the six-pack. A bottle goes for about $1.50.

Apparently, every time I make a purchase, someone in the store is supposed to stamp or mark my little black alcohol passport with the amount I spent. (Presumably brand preferences and state of my palate go unremarked). I can only spend a certain amount per month (but it is ridiculously high--I'd never exceed it). So far, though, I haven't been carded. But I dutifully carry the license in my bag. Being caught buying liquor without it is a big no-no, punishable by all sorts of things including mad fines and jail time (but mostly fines). Don't worry...I won't duck down the alley without it.