(guardian.co.uk)"The law says that whatever the size of your land, your home can be no bigger than 250 sq m. The emir has reacted to this saying his WC is 250 sq m and his kitchen alone has to be 1,000 sq m, because otherwise how is he going to feed all his guests?"
To appease the locals, the Qatari, who is also being heavily courted by the government to invest in Greece, has promised to come bearing gifts. "His people said 'what present can we give you?' and I said the island needs water desperately," said Kassianos. "A study to lay a pipeline from the mainland is already under way. That's not bad when we've been trying to get a new port here for the past 40 years."
He had wanted to buy the Ionian isle of Skorpios, where Jackie Kennedy married Aris Onassis. The deal fell through when the late shipowner's granddaughter, Athina Onassis, refused to come down in price. She is selling for €200m.
Last month, following a visit to Doha by the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, interest was rekindled when Qatar signed up to take part in an international tender to develop Athens' former international airport at Elliniko, one of the most sought after slices of real estate in Europe. The Gulf state has also shown interest in purchasing the famous beachfront Astir Palace hotel, once a stomping ground for celebrities outside the capital.
The Greeks were holding off Islam for almost 1500 years... only to be bought