Following the execution the mare is revived with alcohol, signalling the commencement of a dance as the masks frolic with onlookers.

UNESCO: Culture

Rich in oil and conservative in outlook, its rulers have viewed Dubai's penchant for frolic and folly with distaste and occasional envy.

ECONOMIST: Dubai seeks a reprieve on its debts

At lunch, its waterside picnicstyle tables are filled with customers watching seals frolic in the shallows of Loch Glendhu while eating crab, battered haddock or sole.

BBC: The perfect trip: The Scottish Highlands

Next door to the chairman's dining room is a canopied swimming pool, complete with plastic dolphin, where his four grandchildren can frolic.

FORBES: Thoughts of Chairman Li

Dubai, a short plane ride from Europe and much of Asia and Africa, offers its visitors accessible glamour and relative tolerance of other cultures: Bikini-clad Europeans frolic on beaches steps away from women in burqas, nightclubs are packed with revelers and the streets are dotted with Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

WSJ: Dubai's New Boom Is Hotel Rooms