When I was in Jeddah 30 years ago, a lot of expats there who didn’t have access to the Embassy’s “Tea” shipment, Safeway made it easy for home wine makers. As on entered the aisle, there was white grape juice, yeast and everything else one needed to make their own wine. The Saudi authorities really didn’t care as long as the infidels didn’t sell it to Moslems.
The Jeddah airport gets pretty hectic during the Hajj. I was a 707 captain flying under contract for Nigerian Airways, and we managed to throw off a strip of tread from a main gear tire on landing. The ramp was jammed. We checked in with the Saudia maintenance manager (an American) and asked how long it would be to pull our spare from the cargo pit and change it. “Better go to the hotel; we’ll call you tomorrow when it’s done”.
Since we were paid by the flight hour, that meant the entire crew being docked a day’s pay. Then the flight engineer piped in: “Would a case of Coors speed up the process* a bit?”. (Beer was impossible to get.) We were off the ground and on our way back to Lagos in 40 minutes ;o)
* The 707s radio racks were below the cockpit in the “lower 41 compartment”, as Boeing called it. The F/E had hidden 3 cases there “just in case we need ‘em”. I was in a panic: “How will you get it off without being seen?” “I’m an expert” was the answer. He brought out a roll of duct tape and wrapped 12 cans vertically around each leg - they were completely hidden by his baggy coveralls.