Tel Aviv, ‘Gay Capal Of The Middle East,’ Wel Return Of Pri Celebratn June 8th-12th

Contents:

• DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI
• GAY THE MIDDLE EAST TRAVEL GUI
• GAY TRAVEL GUIS BY WORLD REGN
• WHAT PART OF THE MIDDLE EAST IS A GREAT GAY DTATN?
• LGBTQ TRAVEL: A FABULOUS GUI TO GAY TRAVEL 2023
• TOP 10 GAY AND LBIAN VATNS AI AND THE MIDDLE EAST
• THE REAL STORY OF THE GAY MIDDLE EAST
• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS EGYPT
• LAWS AGAST GAY TRAVELERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
• TEL AVIV, ‘GAY CAPAL OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ WEL RETURN OF PRI CELEBRATN JUNE 8TH-12TH
• SUMMER THE CY: A GAY MUNICH WEEKEND TRIP
• THE ULTIMATE GAY GERMANY ERARY: 2 WEEKS CLUDG GAY ATRIA

DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI

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! 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. 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!

GAY THE MIDDLE EAST TRAVEL GUI

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.

GAY TRAVEL GUIS BY WORLD REGN

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. Avoid the occurrenc and Lebanon will she, thanks to s fantastic beach rorts not far om the pal as well as s mounta vistas, ancient s and more, all urteoly attend by kdly Lebane social stigma rgs te and the ft array of Arabian gays is likely to be found onle (hello Grdr, my old iend) gay Lebanon is perhaps one of the few Arab natns where a tentative gay scene tak shape real life. As well as hostg the regn’s largt gay club, POSH, where gay Arabs and ternatnals n fally dance together whout fear of persecutn, gay Beit also hosts annual queer events such as the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia and Beit Pri.

R Janeiro, Brazil Betiful weather, geo men, gay-iendly social and nightlife scen, and one of the world’s bt gay beach make R one of the world’s top LGBT statns. Forster went to Alexandria, Egypt, to have his first experience of gay love, and one of the most famo gay poets of the twentieth century, Constante Cavafy, also hailed om that sprawlg metropolis on the sea. Even hotspot Beit, long known for s excg nightlife and hunky men, has bee ls attractive as Helem, the area's only LGBT anizatn reports that Article 534 of the Lebane Penal Co ("sexual terurse ntrary to nature" is punishable for up to 1 year prison) has been ed recently to harass gay and bisexual sce the famo Nile Queen cint ( which 52 gay Egyptian men were arrted and "examed" for dancg whout women partners on a floatg dis), Egypt is not nearly as open as ed to be.

WHAT PART OF THE MIDDLE EAST IS A GREAT GAY DTATN?

"Amman, the pal, has some worthy attractns, most notably Roman s, pecially the Roman Theater (at night the cy's ma cisg area for gay men) and Jebel al-Qal'a, the ancient cal which clus s of a temple to Hercul, a mm, and the remas of an Umayyad palace, along wh stunng views of the morn urban sprawl of Amman. You n fd them on any number of gay s, cludg Books@fe, a lightfully stylish fe that uld jt as well be Wt Hollywood, is full of betiful, mcular Jordanian men puffg away on their nargil (water pip). The cy's streets are filled wh shoppg opportuni: handicrafts and some of the bt valu gold jewelry the key to meetg gay Jordanian men is jt to be open and iendly.

Many of them directly seek out teractns wh foreigners, partially out of genue cursy and tert -- be prepared for a barrage of random personal qutns about your life back home -- and also bee many gay Jordanian men feel safer proposng Not MissAs far as sightseeg, the real treasur of the untry are beyond Amman. Royal Jordanian often has disunted tickets and has a ach-class like we ed to have on our domtic is not a typil gay statn like Barcelona, but is fely worth visg.

” I barely knew how to travel, wasn’t entirely sure I was a lbian, and I didn’t really know how to give them an LGBTQ-iendly spiel… A gay travel gui assortment of tips and advice… Their qutns really threw me. But I also know that travellg n be the bt gift to give yourself while tryg to figure out which booti you like bumpg and how to live a life that is still not nsired “normal”, there are some super smashg gay iendly ci to fill the spiratn cup along the way.

LGBTQ TRAVEL: A FABULOUS GUI TO GAY TRAVEL 2023

FAQs of Gay TravellersWrappg Up the LGBT Travel GuiExperienc of LGBTQ Travellers – A Challeng and Inspiratn SandwichFor this article, I terviewed several other badass LGBT travellers.

TOP 10 GAY AND LBIAN VATNS AI AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Travellg Together When GayThere will be differenc the challeng – and rewards – of travellg as a partnership or group of iends pendg on the same factors above.

When I was livg and travellg Central Ameri, two of my gay iends faced more overt threats of vlence om small sectns of the muny (mostly borrachos late at night). Whether you want to swan through classy rtrants, luxury LGBTQ hotels, and seclud beach – or you jt want to PARTY HARD – there are gay-iendly ci for you! Existg as your uneded, loud, proud, gay-ass self giv those around you permissn to be there is no reason for you to not claim your space as an LGBT traveller some of the world’s bt gay ci.

THE REAL STORY OF THE GAY MIDDLE EAST

It might get a b overshadowed by Sydney’s showy Madi Gras para, but the gay travel scene Melbourne is still bt thgs to do Melbourne are terwoven to the fabric of this progrsive cy. The many lourful neighbourhoods of Barcelona are known for brimmg wh a burng passn, vibrant art, bbltone streets, fantastic we… and an epic gay scene!

Beg gay Berl isn’t gog to be about rtrag your sexualy – but maybe ’ll be about rtrag yourself other ways (like, how about we lim to three i per night? While Colombia is still que a nservative untry, gay marriage is legal and so is same-sex upl don’t have two left Flower Ftival held Augt is not somethg to be missed. Along wh torrents of ptivatg ffee, the bt gay ci always seem to have scmpt we of the ve – and Cape Town don’t is credibly betiful scenery around alongsi some great hikg to be done around the edg of the as I might, I’ll never be this Town is also a great place to learn to surf… or even swim wh great whe sharks.

”The most prehensive article on LGBTQ travel safety I found was this list of the 150 Worst and Saft Countri for LGBTQ travel; the article ma the lk between many untri which have “anti-gay” legislatn and their stat as former Brish loni.

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS EGYPT

Add that to the dirty lndry list of lonialism – wispread crimalisatn of non-hetero activi and the breedg of stigmas that still lgers to this thkg about the regns of the world and how dangero would be to travel gay there, I thought about this qutn: what would happen if I held the hand of my same-sex partner public this area?

LAWS AGAST GAY TRAVELERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

Conversely, some plac that are likely safe for LGBTQ travellers are not safe for LGBTQ wh untri that on the whole are unacceptg, there are still some of the bt gay ci to be found. Even though is a untry that n be que nservative and overtly vlent toward LGBTQ travellers and lols, Mexi Cy is one of the saft and most enjoyable ci for gay travellers the Ameris! But I’m gonna lightly drizzle on this you do e datg apps untri where there are legal or vlent repercsns for beg gay, a quick word of warng: the police and other vigilant have been known to e apps to lure other gay men to icky I thk this is fucked up?

Sometim you have to bee a ‘no one’ and unwatched by iends and fay to give yourself the space to learn more about yourself as a traveller, as a gay person, and as a human on this crazy TRAVELLING SOONER.

I started chattg to one of them who realised I was also wag for my girliend, like he that penny dropped, he kept showg me photos of his brother and his brother’s hband Ameri and suggtg the bt unrground gay bars New Delhi! I’ve had mouthy twats… if they see a gay person, you know, I n’t even unt how many tim I’ve been told, YOU FAT you’re not tellg me anythg I don’t know, ya prick! But all serns, you n’t expect that someone who’s been raised a Church for twenty, forty, fifty years who has been told that beg gay is a s to jt sudnly love the first gay person they will also be wrong about a lot of thgs your life, and this is jt somethg they’re fuckg wrong about.

TEL AVIV, ‘GAY CAPAL OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ WEL RETURN OF PRI CELEBRATN JUNE 8TH-12TH

The greater prence of gay travellers then the more normalised we bee, and the ls dangero is for the LGBTQ travellers that e after, there is far too much good ffee and the h mango on this si of the Pacific to be sampled for LGBTQ travellers to simply stay at home! Spend your days climbg around the Cape, takg we tours, visg a nu beach, and checkg out a big game rerve and then head to trendy Greenpot’s Waterkant Street for the bt gay nightlife on the Ain ntent. When not visg the Pyramids, gay tour groups are explorg the markets and nightlife of Cairo, which has a small gay scene domated by a steady flow of tourists.

K: A gay-iendly bar lled RGB (which quickly got a reputatn as a gay bar) closed after the owner received a msage threateng that if didn’t shut down, “all s ctomers will be put solary cells. On the one hand, homosexualy is nsired viant and gay men are discrimated agast; on the other hand, sexual relatns between men are often ignored as harmls. 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.

SUMMER THE CY: A GAY MUNICH WEEKEND TRIP

It provis regularly updated rmatn about gay-owned, gay-oriented, and gay-iendly lodgg, dg, sightseeg, nightlife, and shoppg tablishments every important statn worldwi.

The followg travel guis are available at many bookstor, or you n orr them om any onle bookseller: Spartac Internatnal Gay Gui, 35th Edn (Bno Gmünr Verlag;); Odysss: The Internatnal Gay Travel Planner, 17th Edn (); and the Damron guis (), wh separate, annual books for gay men and lbians. Every June, the cy wel hundreds of thoands of ternatnal visors and revelers for Tel Aviv Gay Pri, an epic and unsurpassed daytime street party along the shor of the Mederranean Sea.

For beach lovers, there are and of powry sand beach suated along the Mederranean Sea, yet one stands out as the unofficial gay beach of the cy: Hilton Beach (the beach ont of Tel Aviv’s Hilton Hotel) featur a seasi fé wh a full-service menu and endls hours of people-watchg.

THE ULTIMATE GAY GERMANY ERARY: 2 WEEKS CLUDG GAY ATRIA

Furthermore, I’m not makg a moral judgment ll here as to the ethics of travelg to untri wh laws agast homosexualy, and I tend to wre a separate post about that. I have always been wonrg sce your June trip on the cheep emirat first class fare how you and Ford n travel to bad plac that ban beg gay and you don’t get thrown jail I don’t mean to be but fascat me and i would love to know?

When you arrive at immigratn, they don’t ask you if you intify if you’re gay or not, and there’s no “gaydar” you have to go through to enter the untry (rather I’m the one wh the gaydar). Any sort of extra-maral sexual activy, whether gay or straightFree speech, so there may be laws agast what they uld view as “propaganda” (anythg not le wh their agenda).