Gay-iendly: Marrakech for homosexuals » Travelgui Marrakech

Contents:

• DOZENS OF GAY MEN ARE OUTED MOROC AS PHOTOS ARE SPREAD ONLE
• WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE GAY … MOROC?
• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS MOROC
• GAY MOROC TRAVEL GUI
• MOROC USED TO BE A HAVEN FOR GAY ARTISTS. IT’S A B MORE COMPLITED NOW
• GAY-IENDLY: MARRAKECH FOR HOMOSEXUALS
• GAY MARRAKH TRAVEL GUI
• MOROC GAY TRAVEL
• TANGIER GAY GUI AND HOTELS
• GAY MARRAKH
• TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021

DOZENS OF GAY MEN ARE OUTED MOROC AS PHOTOS ARE SPREAD ONLE

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe ia was to show the hypocrisy of Morocn society by showg how many gay men are livg quietly straight society. It backfired S/Agence France-Prse — Getty ImagPARIS — At least 50 to 100 gay men were outed Moroc over the last two weeks, rights activists say, after the men were intified on lotn-based meetg apps while shelterg at home amid a ronavis at least three s, men were kicked out of their ho, L. ”In Moroc, a North Ain kgdom where homosexualy and sex outsi marriage are crim, gay people are pafully acctomed to the feelgs of peril and rejectn, and many keep their sexual inti unr, their ver has been blown a way that would be crimal most Wtern societi, rights advot say.

”What mak this episo particularly paful, gay lears say, is that was igned by someone who had also been sgled April 13, a Morocn transgenr Instagram personaly based Istanbul, Naoufal Mosa or Sofia Talouni, was sulted about her sexual orientatn. In a rage, she released a profany-laced vio enuragg women to download the lotn-based meetg apps, like Grdr and Pla Romeo, which are ually ed by gay subsequent vios, she said her aim was to reveal the hypocrisy of Morocn society by showg her attackers how many gay men were livg their vicy, perhaps even their own people followed Ms.

Mosa’s lead and created fake acunts on the apps to gather photos of gay men, which they then posted on private and public Facebook pag, settg off the homophobic attacks igned a firtorm of cricism, both of Ms. Mosa pelled him to acknowledge that he was gay, threateng to post revealg photos showg him wh another gay man. That’s when she got angry and suggted downloadg gay meetg apps, which led to the outburst of anti-gay vlence.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE GAY … MOROC?

“My datg life Moroc was somehow OK as long as my partner and I were beg super discreet and ut, ” said one gay man who asked to be intified only by his ials, N. Abllah Taia, a proment gay thor and one of few to publicly clare his sexual orientatn Moroc, says that the state keeps people a gray area, makg them vulnerable to abe and discrimatn and forcg many to hidg.

”Moroc’s Interr Mistry did not rpond to a requt for outg episo is seen by many as stroyg a agile balance that the untry’s unrground gay culture has built laborly over the years, ma even worse a time of uncertaty and enomic hardship. But they do have some support at Bezad, the print of the Pan-Ain Organizatn for the Fight Agast AIDS, said that while Moroc’s laws were unlikely to change, s health mistry enurag associatns like hers to help vulnerable populatns, cludg gay people.

Jamaa el Fna, Marrakech’s ma square, is the cy’s primary gay cisg spot after dk. For those who heard about the se of Ray Cole—a Brish tourist arrted last year Marrakech, Moroc, on spicn of mtg “homosexual acts” and sentenced to four months’ hard time a Morocn jail prr to his early release— is perhaps difficult to image that Moroc was somethg of a gay paradise for whe men of standg the aftermath of World War II.

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS MOROC

Somethg of the gay scene moved to Marrakech, but suffice to say, is far removed om Tangier’s heyday and very much nfed to the margs. Gay life tak place the pths of certa hammams (Turkish baths) and the back rows of cemas, if people happen to know the right spots; needls to say, cisg plays an important role.

There are no gay bars, but a mix of gay and straight patrons n be found clubs that ter primarily to Wterners. Seen this light, the se of Ray Cole n be said to be another part of the story of the wherg away of gay life Moroc, or at the very least, the end of turng of a bld eye to .

But what is more signifint about Cole’s se is that monstrat the te realy for gay men Moroc, namely, that while the laws on homosexualy are enforced nsistently, there is evintly a double standard employed their applitn. The lerature available to potential gay travelers to Moroc—of which there is a great al sce, spe of laws and social norms there, Moroc remas a prime statn for package holiday-goers om Bra, France, and Germany—is very clear settg out what is and isn’t acceptable.

GAY MOROC TRAVEL GUI

Gay upl should rea om public displays of affectn and would be advised to seek out hotels and riads (a tradnal hoe wh an terr urtyard) known to be gay-iendly. The arrt of Morocns for “homosexual acts” occurs every day and go unreported. The scen of Cole’s fay greetg him at Bra’s Gatwick Airport ntrast starkly wh how gay men are treated Morocn society: looked down upon, rejected by their fai, dismissed wh the Maghrebi Arabic slur zamel.

“More than [Cole’s] own se, what happened to him shows how vulnerable gay Morocns are, ”Abllah Taïa, a Morocn wrer and filmmaker who now liv exile, wrote The Guardian, “They are at the mercy of anyone.

” To the qutn of what is like to be gay Moroc, then, the answer very much means one thg to a Wtern visor and que another to Morocn natnals, who are nsired by their society and their state to be of lser value.

MOROC USED TO BE A HAVEN FOR GAY ARTISTS. IT’S A B MORE COMPLITED NOW

Tips for Gay and Lbian Travelers Moroc. Homosexualy is nsired relatively mon, though rarely acknowledged, amongst Morocn men. Platonic affectn between Morocn mal -- such as holdg hands, which is a sign of iendship and rpect -- is eely shown, and some of the Berber trib (the Atlas Chlh, for example) are known as particularly tolerant toward homosexual behavr.

GAY-IENDLY: MARRAKECH FOR HOMOSEXUALS

For both gays and lbians, discretn is advised. Tangier -- the world's first gay rort -- is still nsired somewhat gay-iendly. Marrakech certaly has a mi gay scene, thanks largely to the number of gay French upl now ridg there.

The Internatnal Gay and Lbian Travel Associatn (IGLTA; tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626;) is the tra associatn for the gay and lbian travel dtry, and offers an onle directory of gay- and lbian-iendly travel bs and tour operators. -based onle travel rource of statns that ter to the gay liftyle, cludg Moroc.

GAY MARRAKH TRAVEL GUI

Beyond the Mask () has gay-based rmatn and news articl on each Ain untry, cludg Moroc. GlobalGayz () is a gay-owned travel, news, and culture webse foced on l-bi-gay-trans life untri around the world.

Their exposé and other stori on gay life Moroc are very tertg and well rearched. The followg travel guis are available at many bookstor, or you n orr them om any onle bookseller: Spartac Internatnal Gay Gui (Bno Gmünr Verlag;); Odysss: The Internatnal Gay Travel Planner (); and the Damron guis (), wh separate annual books for gay men and lbians. Text 'GAYTRAVEL' to 1-800-GAY-TRAVEL (1-800-429-8728).

Technilly homosexualy is not legal the untry of Moroc although is not necsarily enforced. Gay travelers are advised to be discreet and should fd that the saft cy will be Marrakh.

MOROC GAY TRAVEL

LGBTQIA+ travellers are those who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (a more clive LGBT ialism), pl queer or qutng, tersex or asexual dividuals, as well as those who intify beyond the monly ed sexualy and genr exprsns. Homosexualy is illegal and punishable by prison time and f unr article 489 of the Penal Co.

TANGIER GAY GUI AND HOTELS

The book is a seri of semi-tobgraphil vigt, which clu sci-fi elements and scriptns of gay sex. Moroc was no stranger to gay and bisexual men the mid-20th century, cludg famoly out wrers Tman Capote, Tennsee Williams, and Gore Vidal. Morn art and lerature clus queer figur such as lbian wrer Fatima Zahra Amzkar and gay wrer and filmmaker Abllah Taïa, whose award-wng novels Salvatn Army and My Moroc, among others, scribe his youth as a gay man nontg Moroc’s homophobia.

The Jard Majorelle–Yv Sat Lrent Mansn, a fn of two mms, opened to the public 2017—one about Berber history and another dited to the gay signer’s work, both hoed the former rince of Lrent and his partner Pierre Bergé.

Homosexualy the Islamic state—even same-sex kissg—remas illegal and punishable by f and up to three years prison. In 2020, dozens of gay men were outed a untry-wi Grdr leak, leadg to an uptick bullyg, stigmatizatn, arrts, vlence, and blackmailg. I traveled to Moroc twice the past year as an out cis-genr whe gay man.

GAY MARRAKH

I met other gay men livg there, some closeted, others who were out and felt safe enough to live their liv thentilly.

TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021

Grdr still works Moroc, but only wh a VPN (as many untri where homosexualy is illegal). “The Islamic world has a discreet approach to sexualy, ” says gay Morocn rint Hassan, whose name was changed to protect his inty.