Everythg you need to know about beg gay Mlim untri | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI
• THE BT GAY BARS NEAR ME LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA
• NORTH LEBANON GAY TRAVEL
• EVERYONE IS WELE: THE ONLY GAY HANGOUT THE ARAB WORLD
• GAY LIFE LEBANON: BOUNCE BACK BEIT
• EVERYTHG YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEG GAY MLIM UNTRI

DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI

Beit, Lebanon – In an enomilly troubled, nservative untry where homosexual behavur is taboo, a growg number of men are prostutg themselv to scrape together a livg. Hassan – who asked his real name not be ed – was forced to leave his untry after his fay found out about his homosexualy and threatened to kill him. The fact that one n anonymoly e gay social works such as Grdr or Manjam to meet clients a matter of mut – or look for potential on Beit’s gay bars, clubs or hammams – mak easier for the male prostut to stay safe and to keep their job a secret.

THE BT GAY BARS NEAR ME LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA

Dpe homosexual activy beg illegal Lebanon, Beit is wily regard as the saft place for homosexuals the Middle East. Before the vlence and stabily Lebanon turned them away, wealthy gay men om the Gulf untri were pecially proment, ready to pay up to a few thoand dollars – sh, jewellery or signer cloth – for a night wh an rt. Through a haze of shisha smoke and somewhat stiflg sexual stigma, the Arab world unveils an unexpected realm of possibili for trepid gay travellers.

NORTH LEBANON GAY TRAVEL

If you n five the state-approved homophobia and are willg to act wh discretn while out and about, the Arab untri n reem themselv a thoand and one different ways, om the ancient centre of Petra to the glterg ephets of Bahra and to the serts beyond. While by and large closeted kgdoms, the handful of gay clubs the progrsive cy of Beit n allow you to be your te self, while the luxury ternatnal hotels across the regn n ensure your privacy is rpected.

Wh so much do see and do, Mt is bt seen by tour b, allowg you to hop off at untls mms, the Sultan’s Palace and the Mutrah Corniche wateront, before venturg further afield on day trips to the beach and turtle-filled lagoons for divg and of the slightly more tolerant untri the regn, Oman is said to have once had s own gay sultan – Sultan Qaboos b Said al Said – although the state prs is quick to ny this as a pric mour!

EVERYONE IS WELE: THE ONLY GAY HANGOUT THE ARAB WORLD

Neverthels, the unofficial gossip is that the former sultan leads a lavish gay liftyle wh his palace, divorced om his wife and enjoyg the ocsnal English lover. In realy, the laws are rarely upheld except high-profile s, however, and gay Oman remas a perfectly safe place to | Photo: Katera KerdiPetra, particular, is the crowng glory of Jordan, protected wh sandstone cliffs and offerg an unrivalled llectn of monuments, cludg the fg Siq to the Treasury on an ethereal sert se of red rock and dun known as Wadi Rum2. Now you, avid explorer of gay Arab worlds, get to see the antiqui all their majty, movg om Roman Amphheatre to Csar stle wh a samplg of early Christian art along the way.

GAY LIFE LEBANON: BOUNCE BACK BEIT

Jordan crimalised homophobia as early as 1951 and while there remas social stigma and ‘public moraly’ laws that hr LGBTQ+ eedoms, gay Jordan gas tractn thanks to s unrground gay muny (most active on Grdr!

EVERYTHG YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEG GAY MLIM UNTRI

Gay Bahra legalised homosexualy 1976 though this means ltle as an LGBTQ crackdown is still force targetg those that supposedly vlate “public cency”, as Jordan. Tunisian society is viewed posively among the Arab gay muny for s LGBT progrs, as the base for anisatns such as ‘Mawjoud’ which mpaigns for LGBTQ mory rights.

On paper, Tunisian law still stat that homosexualy is illegal, yet wh an openly-gay printial ndidate recently nng and ongog activism, ’s lookg more and more likely crimalisatn will e. In a strange twist, one gay marriage beme legally regnised Tunisia and though that don’t say much for society as a whole, ’s a small w for gay Tunisia.