Posted by axxxr
Iraq has a phony McDonalds, called MaDonal.
Posted by 50Cent
that made me laugh
i wonder i fthey serve the BiMa (Bigmac)
Posted by Wazuki
And GFSi.
Posted by boto43
Yeah,building looks very nice,but I can't believe that Iraqi's love americans foods.
Posted by *Jojo*
I guess the McDonald's Company should just see this one ! As some folks from Iraq 'copied' their trademark/logo at that! It is just very impossible to conclude that 'Madonal' is the meaning of McDonald's in Iraq (language disparity) ??? As the trademark applies to all nation (written as McDonald's) be it in China, Japan, Russia or just everywhere else . . . Hmmm . . .
Posted by Wazuki
Chinese one sucks!
Posted by axxxr
More pics......
Posted by 701
Can't wait2c the pix! Why shouldn't they like it? Don't believe all the crap u c on tv with arabs hating US values;most of them r just propaganda!
Posted by ewap8
Wow thats ace. Lets see if the American macdons can sue them...
Posted by MTNT68i
is it photoshopped?
Posted by axxxr
| Quote: |
|
No its not photoshoped!...This is the real deal!
Posted by *Jojo*
I think that the McDonald's Company, USA just cannot sue this Madonal Foodchain for property rights/ illegal use of protected company logo violation, as the system in Iraq is stiil in total disarray . . . maybe sometime . . .
Posted by Scorchio
LOL
How long do you think before MaDonal get the famous popstar Ustin Imberlake to write a theme tune for there TV adverts?:)
Posted by MTNT68i
Im Ovin it!
Posted by switchbitch
Other fast food outlets found in iran:-
Buger Ing
Hung Jacks
Pizz Hu
Tims Hurtin'
Stab Ucks
Scudway
Kentucky Fried Hick
Mr. Whip
Posted by *Jojo*
@switchbitch - Are those for real mate, tell me you are just kidding here ?
Posted by axxxr
You don't honestly think those are real jojo do u?..
Posted by Scorchio
Speaking of Mac Donalds/MaDonal, What the hell is that purple MacDonalds character called? You know, the purple blob? I've often wondered and nobody ever seems to know!
Posted by axxxr
| Quote: |
|
Who this one?.....
Posted by Scorchio
Havent I seen him on Esato before??
That may very well be him, or at least a modern adaptation?! I remember the purple guy from when I was younger. He was triangular in shape and looked obese which I suppose is a little ironic for a fast food chain cartoon character!!!
Any takers on this guys name???
Posted by MTNT68i
The little pink dude is called Grimace...
Posted by Scorchio
Ah! so he was pink and not purple!
NOw I know his name and will sleep better for it.
Posted by axxxr
This dusty town near the Iranian border does not yet have a McDonald's. But it does have a MaDonal, as well as a Matbax, both of which sell cheeseburgers and French fries using an unmistakably familiar pair of golden arches.
Sulaymaniyah is the only city in Iraq with mobile telephone service and has dozens of shops selling electronics. It has liquor stores with shelves full of Tennessee whiskey and Dutch beer, plus Internet cafes offering espresso.
This ethnically Kurdish town in the mountains of northern Iraq has, in short, a thriving private economy, albeit one not fully calibrated to the finer points of international copyright. Its free-flowing, free-market ways are the result of the independence it has known for the past decade from the rule of Saddam Hussein.
Now, with Hussein gone and market forces beginning to seep into Iraq, the Kurdish areas of the north seem likely to take the lead in the develop
ment of a private sector, serving as a sort of incubator for capitalism in the rest of the country. Trading networks are already established here, with merchants well versed in how to move products into Iraq from neighboring Turkey and Iran. Goods have traveled overland the other way as well, reaching Iran after transiting from the port of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, by way of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.
"This place has been a very important place for transit," said Assan Hawrmy, a local agent for an Iranian trading company. "In business, he who is strong will remain so no matter who is in government. We will get the benefit of these 10 years. We have connections and experience. Maybe the Kurdish will be the leaders in the market."
Under Hussein, private businesses were largely discouraged. Those that did pop up were taxed heavily and subject to random confiscation of goods. But after the 1991 Gulf War, this area became essentially severed from the rest of Iraq, ruled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, an ethnic Kurdish Party, and protected by a nofly zone that barred Iraqi military planes and was enforced by the United States and Britain.
In the years that followed, hundreds of private businesses emerged, encouraged by the local government and aided by the easy availability of goods from Turkey. The firms have been constrained by the absence of a banking system that has generally forced transactions to be in cash, but they have also been nurtured by capital from Kurdish relatives abroad.
Sulaymaniyah today is a place that feels unlike the rest of Iraq, a place where money can fetch what it desires and the traditional mores that prevail elsewhere generally do not obstruct the selling of product. It is a place that feels prosperous, as evidenced by Swiss watches on many a wrist and the BMWs ubiquitous in the traffic.
At a cafe in the lobby of the Sulaymaniyah Palace Hotel on a recent afternoon, patrons in well-tailored clothes sipped bottled peach juice
from Turkey as they watched music videos on a large-screen television - Abba, followed by an animated sketch featuring a pair of women in bikinis exploring Miami in a convertible adorned with vanity plates: "Make Luv."
Down the street, Ismail Hama Amin attended to his framing shop, which was full of posters of President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair superimposed on a map of Iraq. Nearby, a row of appliance shops offered hair dryers from Germany, juicers from France, and vacuum cleaners and Sony PlayStations from Japan.
Other shops offered pirated DVD movies, such as "Jaws" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and a Charlie Sheen picture called "Hot Shots! Part Deux," featuring a cigar-smoking Saddam Hussein character as a villain.
Nearby, Mohamed Abdul Wahid piled ice cream bars from a factory in Iran into a Styrofoam cooler, handing them off to a boy who would sell them in a nearby market.
A block away at Renas Internet Center, a largely unknown and illicit medium in Hussein's day, satellite delivered the global computer network to men occupying 15 cubicles. They stared at the same sort of content that attracts most of the attention in other lands: One downloaded a photo of an Italian soccer star, while another surveyed a German casino gaming site. A third visited an "adult love line;' taking in the sight of "blissfullgrl25" in her underwear, next to her vividly detailed description of how she prefers to pass the evening.
"They like to check e-mail, chat, then visit the sexy sites," said the manager, Aram Omer. "Mostly sexy sites. But some sexy sites want MasterCard. We don't have a bank in our country."
Lately, northern Iraq lacks a lot of other things, too. Though the war hardly touched this region, sparing it the heavy damage inflicted elsewhere, the conflict inspired Turkey to shut its borders, crimping the flow of goods and raising prices. At his electronics shop, Khader Abadulla complained that the same Samsung videodisc player he used to buy from a trading company in Turkey for $23 now costs $48.
But the war has also raised the prospect of a unified Iraq, prompting thoughts among successful merchants here of expanding their sights beyond the region. At Sana Mobile. one of the two cell phone carriers in town, there is now talk of expanding into the rest of Iraq. "We have the financial ability and the technical ability," engineer Khalid Hasan said "We have the experience:'
At Matbax, which opened four years ago, owner Ahmed Amin does not worry about legal challenges from McDonald's, asserting that a small rectangle in his logo that blocks the bottom of one of the arches makes clear that his is a non-infringing operation. Moreover, he said, the name Matbax, is close to the word for "kitchen" in Arabic, solidifying his legitimacy. He said he is exploring plans to build restaurants in Kirkuk and Baghdad. His manager, Aman Mohamed, scoffed at the suggestion that their cross-town rival, MaDonal was competition. He warned against even setting foot in the place. "Cheat quality," Mohamed said.
Antin even holds out the possibility of partnering with McDonald's, imagining that the world's most successful hamburger franchise might wish to tap his extensive knowledge of beef shwarma, which occupies a prime place on his menu and a large chunk of his kitchen space as well: Two giant slabs of meal rotate on skewers, grilling as they turn.
Posted by Scorchio
An interesting article. Its amazing how such a socially and tecnically proactive town can exist in Iraq!
If they really do have a Mobile Network then I suppose you could start selling Phony Ericssons!! ... I promise not to make anymore name jokes on the subject
Posted by axxxr
Well now a Pizza Hot has popped up aswell:Fake Pizza Hut in Iraq