Mental Mayhem blocked in Dubai?

by | Jul 18, 2007 | Weblogs | 6 comments

I got the following message from my Dubai-based friend this morning:

I got the habit of checking your website every now and then. However, recently i haven’t been able to as it gives me a weird message: "Network Error (tcp_error) A communication error occurred: "Operation timed out". The Web Server may be down, too busy, or experiencing other problems preventing it from responding to requests. You may wish to try again at a later time. For assistance, contact Customer Support."

When I asked about it, they told me it has been blocked in Dubai. Do you know or can do anything about it? 7aram it’s a nice site. By the way, people in Media City can check your site since their communication is provided by DU, the rest of Dubai’s communication is provided by Etisalat who are blocking the site.

Can anyone confirm this? I really can’t see the reason for my blog being blocked in the UAE or anywhere else for that matter. I rarely blog about controversial issues. Most of the material in my blog reads like a personal journal. Could it just be a technical error? Can anyone shed light on this?

Update: So far I’ve received two responses from Dubai residents, one confirming the message above, the other saying that this blog can be accessed normally through Etisalat. Who knows?

6 Comments

  1. Dalia
    Dalia on July 23, 2007 at 1:07 am

    Hi Teesh,

    Right now I am accessing you through du – all ok.. At home when I try your blog (and mine incidentally) – they don’t work.. But I think it’s a technical server time out from Etisalat because I don’t get the usual ‘Access Denied’ page that etisalat uses to show that this site is blocked.

    *sigh* the pleasure of internet in the arab world

    How are things going? I miss you – missed you at fairuz’s wedding..

    love, Dalia

  2. Elliot
    Elliot on July 19, 2007 at 2:27 pm

    It’s probably “user error”. 🙂

  3. Yarob
    Yarob on July 19, 2007 at 2:15 am

    Nope I can hear you loud and clear right here in Dubai.(over Etisalat)

  4. natasha
    natasha on July 18, 2007 at 12:41 pm

    Thanks Hareega for the tip. I just sent him an e-mail.

  5. Hareega
    Hareega on July 18, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    I think who-sane lives in Dubai you might ask him, I hope it’s not true.

    Have you ever criticized prostitution?? maybe that’s the reason, they love it in Dubai