Have you gone to Arab countries with another man?

[marylander1940]

On 6/28/2023 at 9:11 AM, Peter Eater said:

Now it probably helps that the king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, is gay.

 

Can you post that in social media in Morocco without fear of lashes, beheading, etc.?

[Alex93108]

6 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

To jump in and redirect this conversation a bit I would interject that there are Muslims and there are MUSLIMS.

Turkey and Morrcco for example are primarily populated by a very easy/benign sect of Islam. Other people and cultures are acknowledged and respected. I remember sitting on a beach in Turkey once. Two Muslim women to my right in full burkas and two German women on my left sunbathing topless in their bikinis. Turks are generally not extreme in their views on outsiders.

Morocco especially Marrakesh has a long history of "keeping one eye open and one eye shut" toward the indulgences of non-Muslim tourists

Many other Muslim countries have varying degrees of extremism and although some of the more extreme make space for tolerance toward tourists .(because they bring $$$)...those exceptions are extremely localized in specific hotels and resorts and you could potentially find yourself in trouble quickly by being too "obvious" if you stray too far from acceptable the tourist zone.

I toured Brunei with a lovely gentleman who just happened to turn out to be gay. He explained living there was a matter of being discreet. Officially he could be arrested for being gay...but he said what that really means is getting arrested for BEING OBVIOUS.  Discretion goes a long way in the Muslim world as much as it does in the redneck states of the US.

And these days that definition is moving fast.

Dubai and much of the UAE, ( with the exception of maybe Abu Dhabi and few other emirates) is tolerant of just about anything, as long as you don't offend the local religion. These days also KSA ( Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) with the new king MBS, headscarfs / hijab ( or what my mom likes to call the beepers suit / zorro) - is not legally required to be worn by women.

The two men kissing though, as an Arab greeting, gets me every time - as the ultimate irony. It means something else in that part of the world 

Edited April 12 by Alex93108

[+ José Soplanucas]

Men kisses are regular in many cultures, and has nothing to do with homo eroticism. In Argentina, we all cheek kiss, In Morocco I have seen men serial cheek kissing, in Russia they kiss on the lips, and none of these situations has nothing to do with homosexuality. 

[Ganymede255]

9 hours ago, marylander1940 said:

Can you post that in social media in Morocco without fear of lashes, beheading, etc.?

It’s likely that you would suffer arrest and possible jail time for outing the king.  Since he has sired children, he would appear to be bisexual but with a strong preference for men. This preference is well known in Morocco thanks to social media that have been highlighting his close friendship with a German-Moroccan bodybuilder and kickboxer, but the obvious sexual conclusion has never been openly stated.  After all, being acknowledged as bisexual/gay would jeopardize his title as “Commander of th Faithful.”

[marylander1940]

1 hour ago, Ganymede255 said:

It’s likely that you would suffer arrest and possible jail time for outing the king.  Since he has sired children, he would appear to be bisexual but with a strong preference for men. This preference is well known in Morocco thanks to social media that have been highlighting his close friendship with a German-Moroccan bodybuilder and kickboxer, but the obvious sexual conclusion has never been openly stated.  After all, being acknowledged as bisexual/gay would jeopardize his title as “Commander of th Faithful.”

If I had a dollar for every time I wished young folks to go spend gay pride in Gaza or the West Bank.       I hope some will do it and enjoy the view from a tall building. 

[kingsley88]

I remember watching Downton Abbey and when the Marquess of Hexham died, he did so in Tangiers, Morocco. Apparently back then that's where men went to be 'free'. 

[kingsley88]

I've gone to several Arab countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Oman, UAE, Lebanon, Qatar) with another man and even stayed in the same room but to be safe we only stayed in rooms with 2 twin beds.  

[MikeBiDude]

15 minutes ago, kingsley88 said:

I've gone to several Arab countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Oman, UAE, Lebanon, Qatar) with another man and even stayed in the same room but to be safe we only stayed in rooms with 2 twin beds.  

I did the two bed thing in Cairo last year. Played in one and slept in the other so they both looked slept in 🤣 When I was casually asked who my friend was I always responded “my nephew”😉

[Peter Eater]

21 hours ago, Alex93108 said:

These days also KSA ( Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) with the new king MBS, headscarfs / hijab ( or what my mom likes to call the beepers suit / zorro) - is not legally required to be worn by women.

Nice that MBS will let the ladies go hijab-less, but he’ll still order you cut to pieces with a bone saw if you piss him off. Tolerance has its limits, meaning you do not possess bodily autonomy in that backward hellhole.

Edited April 13 by Peter Eater

[Peter Eater]

18 hours ago, Ganymede255 said:

his close friendship with a German-Moroccan bodybuilder and kickboxer

Actually it’s three German-Moroccan kickboxer brothers who Mohammed hangs with, but yes, Abubakr Abu Azaitar is by far his favorite. (He’s got 2 million followers on IG.) Mo divorced the wife several years ago.

Edited April 13 by Peter Eater

[BSR]

52 minutes ago, Peter Eater said:

Actually it’s three German-Moroccan kickboxer brothers who Mohammed hangs with, but yes, Abubakr Abu Azaitar is by far his favorite. (He’s got 2 million followers on IG.) Mo divorced the wife several years ago.

King's got good taste; the boyfriend's hot.

[Luv2play]

6 hours ago, kingsley88 said:

I remember watching Downton Abbey and when the Marquess of Hexham died, he did so in Tangiers, Morocco. Apparently back then that's where men went to be 'free'. 

Oscar Wilde only got as far as Paris. 

[Alex93108]

On 6/23/2023 at 2:40 PM, BenjaminNicholas said:

It means less than it used to.  A lot less.

Don't expect your embassy to bail you out.  Don't expect Americuh to come running to save you from your own stupid decisions.

When in Rome, you might not always do exactly as Romans do, but at least have enough respect to recognize culture and custom.

When the war in Lebanon happened ( 2006), I was in Cyprus at the time, and the state department did send a ship, but i kid you not, billed the people they evacuated for the expense. Presumably some of this was paid by travel insurance, the Treasury  sought payment back from US Citizens, they evacuated. 

Details here  -   It was under the George W Bush administration. At least the state department was able to get people out.

The European nations did evacuate their citizens at no cost, up to a point. Not everyone was evacuated. 

I used to think if you were British, you would be saved, but they let their own citizens rot in Gaza recently, so don't count on anyone for help. 

 

Edited April 19 by Alex93108

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

1 hour ago, Alex93108 said:

When the war in Lebanon happened ( 2006), I was in Cyprus at the time, and the state department did send a ship, but i kid you not, billed the people they evacuated for the expense. Presumably some of this was paid by travel insurance, the Treasury  sought payment back from US Citizens, they evacuated. 

Details here  -   It was under the George W Bush administration. At least the state department was able to get people out.

The European nations did evacuate their citizens at no cost, up to a point. Not everyone was evacuated. 

I used to think if you were British, you would be saved, but they let their own citizens rot in Gaza recently, so don't count on anyone for help. 

None of this surprises me.  There's no such thing as a free lunch.

As a traveler, it's your responsibility to always be prepared, including travel insurance with evac protection.

I travel a ton and to leave my safety in the hands of my embassy would be fucking foolish. 

I always have a backup plan and failsafe, especially when I'm in a country that's in turmoil or heading that way.

Edited April 19 by BenjaminNicholas