The real story of the gay Middle East | World Enomic Fom

Contents:

• DISVER THE 5 MOST GAY-IENDLY ARAB UNTRI
• 10 BT GAY DATG APPS & S FOR LGBTQ+
• BT GAY DATG APPS FOR HOOKUPS, RELATNSHIPS, AND EVERYTHG BETWEEN
• WHAT PART OF THE MIDDLE EAST IS A GREAT GAY DTATN?
• LAWS AGAST GAY TRAVELERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
• THE REAL STORY OF THE GAY MIDDLE EAST
• BT GAY CHAT AND SOCIAL WORK APPS

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. 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.

10 BT GAY DATG APPS & S FOR LGBTQ+

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

BT GAY DATG APPS FOR HOOKUPS, RELATNSHIPS, AND EVERYTHG BETWEEN

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. 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.

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

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.

In fact, ten years ago, was really difficult to fd a datg app that was aimed specifilly at gay datg.

I’ve given the bt gay datg apps a tt n and put together an article that will help you make a better cisn. I’ll break each gay datg app down and take a look at who ’s for, how much sts, and what s benefs are. It’s ial for men lookg for gay hookups/ gay sex/ gay sugar datg, primarily bee lerally everyone is on here.

LAWS AGAST GAY TRAVELERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

It’s ed wily by gay, bisexual and queer men and transgenrs who see as a ‘safe space’ ee om judgment.

Bt for gay women and to send and receive has iendship and matchg of this bisexual datg app feel like social media.

It’s also ial for gays lookg for new iends, but ’s generally seen as a place where you n fd someone who’s lookg for no-strgs-attached sex. 20 Milln+ members, so you will fd all typ of gay shows you daily LGBTQ+ events, parti, ftivals, and pris near helps you fd Gay Travelg panns as well through your profile.

THE REAL STORY OF THE GAY MIDDLE EAST

Surge pris self on beg a safe space for gay and bisexual men who are ee to fd a hookup or love whout beg judged. Growlr is bt seen as a social workg app for gays who want to meet bears for iendship, hookups, or even ser relatnships.

Over 10 ln ers gay sgl who are lookg for gay 's a good datg app if you're lookg for sual of the er base is nice and giv a muny vibe. It’s open to all kds of gay men (cludg transgenrs), ’s ee to send and receive msag, and several special featur enhance your enjoyment. It’s a premium matchmakg service that’s home to lns of members worldwi, and ’s perfectly sued for gays lookg to date – or even fd their life partner.

Zoosk offers LGBTQ datg so you'll fd a lot of people who fall that n easily tweak your search filters to fd gay sgl around you. Chappy recently merged wh Bumble but ntu to be a fun gay datg app that’s perfect for sual sex and somethg longer-term.

BT GAY CHAT AND SOCIAL WORK APPS

Olr guys will be more sued to gay datg s like Match and OkCupid which allow you to adjt your search settgs so that you’re able to fd men of a siar age. 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. Recently however, a lot of the great gay statns of the Middle East have not been gettg good prs.

First, the unrt associated wh the Arab sprg has ma stalwarts of gay travel statns like Tunisia ls appealg. 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. Iran and Sdia Arabia, whatever their cultural appeal to tourists, rema difficult to vis and are known to execute gay men.

S-led vasn has sce seen some of the worst gay-bashg and murr of homosexual men the Middle 's Left? Like many Mlim untri, homosexual acts and cross-drsg are nsired "sful" but they aren't technilly illegal. A gay uple n walk the street arm--arm or holdg hands while a straight uple would get dirty looks.