Crazy Water Park
| Crazy Water Park | |
|---|---|
Crazy Water Park
|
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| Location | Gaza Strip |
| Opened | May 2010 |
| Closed | September 2010 |
| Pools | 3 pools |
| Water slides | 3 water slides |
Crazy Water Aqua Fun Park was a water park in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories, that served the territory's small wealthy class. The park opened in May 2010 and was burned down by masked men in September 2010, after being closed by the Palestinian Hamas de facto government for allowing men and women to mingle. In July, one Australian newspaper called it "the new sensation" among Gaza's "privileged."
Mohammed Al-Araj, a former economics minister for the Hamas de facto government in the Gaza Strip, was one of the owners of the park. Two thousand families visited the Crazy Water Park during the first four days that it was open.
The landscaped water park, west of Gaza City, featured 3 swimming pools, a canal 100 meters long, three water slides, ponds with pedalos, a restaurant, a cafe, and a quiet area shaded by a tent where adults could sit on carpets and listen to music. The atmosphere was secular, with popular secular tunes playing over the loudspeakers and women in international-style clothing. A lifting of the government ban on women smoking in public made it legal for women to smoke the popular nargilas at the Park's cafe. The park was built with materials assembled from war-torn buildings as well as materials brought through the Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels. Construction was completed in six months. Admission was 10 shekels, the equivalent of about $2.60 as of mid-2010, but using the water slide costs another 5 shekels, and going into the pool costs an extra 20 shekels.
The park cost $2 million to build. According to Ayman Barawi, the Park's financial manager, "This park is a form of escape. People need a chance to escape from the stress. We brought 'air' to the people." According to The Guardian, the water park was part of an entertainment "circuit" for wealthy Palestinians in Gaza, which includes seaside cafes, browsing at the Gaza Mall and riding at the Faisal Equestrian Club, adjacent to the Park.
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Wikipedia