This is a guest post by fellow gay blogger Michael Demmons of the TheRTWGuys travel blog:
Iran’s human rights record is bad. There is no sugar-coating that. When it comes to gay people, it’s almost as bad as it gets. Most LGBT people who follow the news know the terrible punishments that Iran has imposed for people even suspected of being gay.
Some human rights organisations say that between 4,000-6,000 gay men and lesbians have been executed in Iran since 1979. As recently as April 2017, 30 gay men were arrested in the Isfahan province.
Transgender people fare no better. The only “bright” side is that being transsexual is legal in Iran, but only if accompanied by a gender reassignment surgery. Surprisingly, that surgery can be partially covered by the government. In fact, after Thailand, Iran carries out the most sex reassignment surgeries than any other country in the world.
Is Iran safe for gay citizens? Probably not in general.
Is Iran safe for gay tourists? That’s a little more complicated.
By Stefan Arestis – Full Story at the Nomadic Boys
I spent the bigger part of the past week in Israel before returning to Berlin, where I was greeted with snow. It couldn’t have been a greater contrast: On Thursday, I went running in a tank top on the beach, and on Friday I went running across icy & snowy Tempelhof airfield.
After a couple of days in Jerusalem we took the bus to Tel Aviv and spent my final days in Israel in what is one of my favorite cities in the world. It was the perfect way to end my trip – after a few chilly days, the weather was sunny and warm, and we splurged on fancy hotel right by the beach, using a discount code for Hotels.com.
We did all the things I love doing in Tel Aviv: morning runs along the beach promenade, strolls through Carmel market and Jaffa flea market, eating lots of sabich sandwiches (I fit in two visits to the legendary sabich sandwich place on the corner of Frishman and Dizengoff Str). Luckily we took advantage of Tel Aviv’s bike sharing system, which I discovered during my last visit, and cycled off some of the calories.
SPEAKERS boom in the darkly lit, smoky room. It’s 2 am and the club is packed with a sea of sweaty, gay men getting their groove on to a Madonna classic — and I’m one of them.
After an all-day drinking session, followed by a spot of impromptu karaoke, during which I made friends with a lovely lesbian couple (we bonded over our love of ‘80s power ballads) I’ve ended up at this underground hotspot. Nothing strange here you might think, I mean, there are gay clubs the world over, right? But what makes this unusual is that I’m not in the relatively liberal West; I’m in Dubai.
A province of the United Arab Emirates governed by a dictatorial royal family and a tourism hotspot attracting the gaze of the world thanks to its constant sunshine and headline-grabbing world’s “biggest” and “tallest” buildings, shopping malls and man-made islands. Like Las Vegas, Dubai was built in a desert from nothing and like Vegas, Dubai (in the Arab world anyway) is known as sin city.
These photos show Dubai in a nutshell. You’ve seen the city’s futuristic and postcard-perfect skyline many times, perhaps, but you’ve never seen a photo that speaks volumes of contradictions that aren’t really hard to see.
At Jumeirah Beach, where these photos were taken, these camels and their master go for a walk along the beach, luring sunbathers and tourists for a short ride, in exchange of few dirhams.
Shortly after my plane took off the tarmac, I flipped open my copy of Rough Guide to Jordan. I tried to get comfy in my seat — it would be 12 hours until I could be skipping across the sand in Amman.
I read through Rough Guide’s helpful notation for gay and lesbian travelers: “Homosexual conduct in private between consulting adults is legal in Jordan, but social disapproval of an overtly gay lifestyle is strong . . . Amman has a small underground scene for gay men and lesbians, for the most part invisible to outsiders.”
Fast forward a few hours, and I’m lounging in a posh suite at the Four Seasons Hotel Amman (the city’s swankiest), flipping through Tinder, woofing on Scruff and saying hello to a legion of friendly locals eager to chat with a foreigner like me. I was in the city over the weekend and wanted to know where the local gays hang out when they want to socialize and have fun. I received a string of responses within minutes, all directing me to one little cafe in the heart of the city.
I had my own walking tour in Abu Dhabi. I figured it out using Google Map. My Lonely Planet Guidebook didn’t even have one–which I understand because Abu Dhabi is not a walkable destination. You’ve got to have a car to go places of interests. While they have public bus transport, good luck seeing all the things you plan to see in one day. On a backpacking budget? Sigh. Good luck with that! 🙂
I told my brother to drop me off at the gate of the Presidential Palace early morning on his way to work. No, not that early, really. At 9. Though it’s late November, the sun could still be a bit hot–I’m Asian, remember? We use skin whitener! Hahahahaha… At 21C, I thought it was tolerable.
I started at the gate of the Presidential Palace. No visitors are allowed inside, so, I just stood there and took a photo. As I left and turned my back away from the Presidential Palace, the luxurious 5-star hotel, Emirates Palace is on the left. You can actually go inside but make sure you’re properly dressed–no shorts and sandals. They’ll allow visitors starting at 10 in the morning.