Everyone is wele: the only gay hangout the Arab world | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI
• NORTH LEBANON GAY TRAVEL
• LEBANON IS KNOWN AS GAY FRIENDLY. BUT PRI WEEK WAS SHUT DOWN.
• EVERYONE IS WELE: THE ONLY GAY HANGOUT THE ARAB WORLD
• LEBANON'S GAY-IENDLY REPUTATN CHALLENGED BY AB
• GAY AND GAY-IENDLY HOTELS LEBANON
• GAY AND LESBIAN HOTELS IN LEBANON
• GAY IENDLY HOTELS LEBANON
• GAY AND GAY-IENDLY HOTELS BEIT
• LEBANON IS KNOWN AS GAY FRIENDLY. BUT PRI WEEK WAS SHUT DOWN.
• R SEDIA EVENTO TURISMO LGBTQIA+ E, SEGUNDO TUDOS, PO MENTAR POTENCIAL CIDA 'GAY IENDLY'
• GAY AND GAY-IENDLY HOTELS BEIT

DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI

Through a haze of shisha smoke and somewhat stiflg sexual stigma, the Arab world unveils an unexpected realm of possibili for trepid gay travellers. 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.

Jo as we track the 5 most gay-iendly Arab untri.

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. Much the way of the Sultan, gay life here is to be led unrground, due to the heavy penalti for homosexualy.

NORTH LEBANON GAY TRAVEL

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!

LEBANON IS KNOWN AS GAY FRIENDLY. BUT PRI WEEK WAS SHUT DOWN.

) and annual events such as the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. 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.

EVERYONE IS WELE: THE ONLY GAY HANGOUT THE ARAB WORLD

A clear wner for s LGBTQ eedoms, Lebanon is also hard to beat for s lively gay scene and diversy of spir. 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.

The Gay Travel Experience: North Lebanon.

My vis to Lebanon was hontly one of the most unique gay travel experienc of my life. I learned an credible amount about Lebanon’s gay life and was able to meet the sweett gay lols. Whout a doubt, I remend gay travelers go to Lebanon.

LEBANON'S GAY-IENDLY REPUTATN CHALLENGED BY AB

Beg Gay Lebanon: What’s Like? For lols, beg gay Lebanon is not easy. Most gay people Lebanon keep their sexual orientatn very private.

GAY AND GAY-IENDLY HOTELS LEBANON

Well, the typil answer is that younger LGBT dividuals do not want their parents or anyone who is religly nservative, to know that they’re gay. Is Lebanon Gay Friendly?

As a gay man, travelg to Lebanon is generally safe. However, that don’t necsarily mean the untry is gay iendly. The New York Tim published an article 2018, of which the tle starts wh “Lebanon is known as gay iendly”.

GAY AND LESBIAN HOTELS IN LEBANON

For lols, gay life Lebanon isn’t the easit. Gay travelers should rtrict any sort of public affectn to plac and tablishments that are known to be gay iendly.

North Lebanon Gay Travel Experienc. I had an amazg time jog some Lebane gay lols at Palms Beach Hoe Jounieh.

GAY IENDLY HOTELS LEBANON

This place is pretty special to me too, sce I started and end my Lebanon gay travel adventure wh nights here! Lebanon Gay Travel Tips. Grdr Lebanon is officially banned, which is unfortunate om a gay rights perspective.

Gay Rights Lebanon.

There are no laws prohibg discrimatn agast gay people for any reason.

GAY AND GAY-IENDLY HOTELS BEIT

Intertgly, Lebanon don’t have any laws that explicly prohib or perm homosexualy or homosexual activy. This has not prevented prosecutn of the Lebanon gay muny, done via terpretatn of other laws place. A year later, a Lebane urt led that homosexual activy is not illegal, which mov the untry one step closer to the official legalizatn of same-sex sexual activy.

Need more ias for gay statns? Explore wolfyy’s full llectn of gay travel guis.

AdvertisementSKIP Amro/Agence France-Prse — Getty ImagMay 16, 2018BEIRUT, Lebanon — For members of Lebanon’s gay muny, Beit Pri week was tend as a way to celebrate diversy, fight discrimatn and ph for more rights and regnn. But that dream me crashg down this week when the Lebane thori taed the celebratn’s anizer, releasg him only after he promised to ncel the remag ncellatn was a blow to gay men, lbians and transgenr people Lebanon, who say they face legal and social discrimatn spe livg one of the most socially liberal untri the Arab world.

LEBANON IS KNOWN AS GAY FRIENDLY. BUT PRI WEEK WAS SHUT DOWN.

”Homosexualy is crimalized across the Arab world, although some untri look the other way as long as remas private.

Lebane law stipulat that “any sexual terurse ntrary to the orr of nature” is punishable by up to one year prison, but do not specify which sexual practic are law is enforced irregularly, so Lebanon has veloped to one of the Arab world’s most open and active gay muni.

Night-life activi iendly to lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people are easy to fd, and several anizatns provi health and other servic. The lead sger of the Lebane rock band Mashrou’ Leila is one of the regn’s most famo openly gay Lebanon is also home to 18 officially regnized relig sects, many of which oppose homosexualy on relig grounds and have associatns that mpaign agast gay-iendly Pri was tend to be a ne-day seri of events Beit, Lebanon’s pal.

R SEDIA EVENTO TURISMO LGBTQIA+ E, SEGUNDO TUDOS, PO MENTAR POTENCIAL CIDA 'GAY IENDLY'

Saqr gay activists worried that Mr.

GAY AND GAY-IENDLY HOTELS BEIT

Damien’s arrt would hamper plans for other events for the gay muny. Damien was was the send nsecutive year that efforts to anize gay pri events Lebanon faltered.

In 2017, the openg event of gay pri week was nceled after threats by Islamist Hubbard ntributed reportg om Larnaka, Cyps.

Everyone is, a study bathed by the afternoon sunshe, Wael Hse, a 24-year-old gay man, is chattg wh Naya, a transgenr woman, ahead of Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) on Thursday. ”Compared wh other untri the Middle East, such as Iran where homosexualy is punishable by ath, Lebanon has a relatively thrivg LGBT muny.