Making contact in Arab countries

[saltyshakes]

In general, & perhaps not surprisingly given legal & religious pressures, discretion is essential and a subtle glance is the commonest method of contact. A Tunisian friend told be rather imprecisely to just smile before I visited Tunisia & I soon discovered that one had to be more discreet than that, otherwise people may feel exposed, outed or offended.

Stereotypically, being young & blond will still attract a lot of interest, otherwise an earring [in either ear] will be seen as indicating your inclination - in spite of the fact they must have met many straight foreigners with earrings.

There is also, bizarrely, the discreet tickling of the palm during a handshake - again, BE DISCREET.

In some countries locals are prohibited from approaching foreigners in public apparently to prevent them being hassled although, in practice this doesn't put off the hassling types though does discourage others. Also if one has an earring, they may feel uncomfortable being seen with you in public.

I did find the Egyptians to be the most brazen eg in open stalls in souks standing behind you, ostensibly to hold up a galabya, nudging a hard dick at your arse, then sometimes offering more. There used to be more opportunity in the past when stalls had an upstairs & now has a much more brazen commercial/hustling angle in Egypt.

Otherwise conversation may arise regarding your marital status & if you say single, they say why?... It should be said that in general there are few private places where action can happen.

In Egypt [& perhaps elsewhere] arabs whose ID cards indicate they live locally are legally banned from staying in hotels though BE WARNED hustlers will try to scam money from you by asking for money to book a room, then disappear with it.

An alternative is to book into a very cheap local hotel [not in the summer as you won't have air conditioning!] & leave the door ajar. Again - be subtle & discreet!

Regarding camel rides: nowadays, in most places, the locals are prohibited from riding with you.

The advent of mobile phones, seems to me to have syphoned off some of men's interests perhaps because they often have porn on them or perhaps because their fiddling is now devoted to the keypads rather than their dicks!

Regarding hammans, see my other posting. Note that hammams are popular in N Africa [though never saw any action in those I visited in Sousse, Tunisia] but not in Egypt. I visited what was probably the last remaining one in Cairo Khan elKhalili some years back & it obviously had been quite beautiful in the distant past but had become very dirty, cockroaches, crumbling walls & v few people [two locals & 2 arabs] - though it was probably the most 'gay' hamman I'd been in. Otherwise you're limited to other foreigners in hotel saunas & pools [certainly, in Egypt, foreigners are barred from the few public pools].

With occasional, delightful exceptions, locals have an eye for arses & will only be interested in fucking you or being sucked ie nothing reciprocal, no kissing etc & then reckon they've done you the favour! Perhaps it is not surprising given the contradictions posed by encounters whilst under religious & societal pressure to deny their inclinations so a lot of negativity can be projected on you. At best they may treat you as a warm hole & may often regard you as dirty/unclean as a dog or pig. Unless you are turned on by this role, be warned that anything reciprocal still less romantic is very unlikely!

Finally - keep it safe - aside from mugging or kidnapping risks, many will want to fuck without a condom &, even if they do, being unused to them, there is more chance of them splitting.

[zeiss]

A very interesting article :)

[smooth]

hi -great article-very thought provoking--thank you,smooth steve

[ButtyBoy]

Very interesting indeed saltyshakes :)

An alternative is to book into a very cheap local hotel [not in the summer as you won't have air conditioning!] & leave the door ajar. Again - be subtle & discreet!

I don't quite get this. How would the guys get passed the hotel reception?

[saltyshakes]

The very cheap [eg $2 a night & usually grubby] hotels are used mainly by arabs, although in Egypt &, perhaps elsewhere, they would only be those from outside the local area - so you wouldn't be able to meet a local there & book them into your hotel.

I've stayed in a few in Egypt that had students staying - studying locally but, technically [& ID cardwise] were from other towns &, on a couple of occasions got 'offers' though they indicated money was expected.

In Marrakesh I had a number of brief liaisons with fellow guests or staff &, in one instance, someone who caught my eye in a hammam booked in [briefly] to my hotel for a session, unusually reciprocal snogging & oral etc although he was from Casablanca.

However, in Essaouira, a session was interrupted by the guy from reception who had obviously noticed the guy following me in. I felt a bit panicked but acted nonchalantly & fortunately it was less than an hour before I was leaving anyway.

[kosta]

very interesting artical...especially that i will be goiing to egypt...I am a Greek guy from Athens and will be traveling around egypt for 6 weeks..with hopefully a base in Cairo, can you advise me on where to meet guys,local places , hammams, cheap hotels, internet connections ext....kosta

[saltyshakes]

First of all, I would recommend that you don't plan on staying too long in Cairo. It is a dreadful city, even by the standards of a lot of capital cities! Just this week an Egyptian, I met here, said very much the same thing about it. It wasn't until I went there that I realised why most tours spend the minimum number of days there to visit the pyramids & museum then escape somewhere else!

Cairo is very noisy [vehicles use their horns rather than indicators!], only between about 3am & 5am is it any quieter. The air quality is also very poor & it can be quite confusing to navigate, even with a map, unless you are very familiar with arabic script - few of even the main roads have romanised versions of their names on street signs &, culturally, people, even taxi drivers & tourist police don't understand the concept of maps - eg it was difficult getting a taxi driver to take me to the botanic gardens on one of the islands on the Nile - ie he didn't even recognise the big brown blob in the middle of the thick blue line running down the middle of my map!

Most people there are habitually dishonest eg. On the way to the museum, I was approached & told by a variety of people that it was either closed for refurbishment or for prayers so I should instead accompany them to a friends shop... The hotel arranged a 'tour' of the pyramids for myself & a Dutch couple though it turned out to be just an expensive taxi, leaving us to pay extra for entrance/guide etc.

The Spartacus guide was very unreliable regarding 'places of interest' & the only men that show interest [unless you are v young] are hustlers who will rip you off.

A Lebanese guy over here once commented to me that a common Arab failing is to promise a lot but deliver very little and Egypt in general & Cairo in particular is the worst place for this. If you pay, you will probably get nothing, very little and may also have more demanded from you, conned, stolen etc! You might try the Khan elKhalili souk & ham-maam [hamaam means pigeons!] though think it's probably closed - see www.gayegypt.com/centralcairo.html Otherwise, unlike N Africa, there are few if any ham-maams in Egypt.

A better [though, nowadays not very good] is to head south by train to Luxor & Aswan [indeed, it is usually cheaper to fly direct to Luxor & base yourself there rather than Cairo]. Stay in one of the cheap hotels between the stn & Television St in Luxor eg Nubian Oasis, Atlas, Everest. Otherwise, go to Aswan - a little better - & stay at a cheap hotel such as Rosewan near the station or Abu Shelib at far end of the souk [a taxi from stn to hotel should be a flat rate LE5]. Rooms cost around LE15 per night - v cheap! Those without ensuite bathrooms offer an excuse to wander outside your room!

You may have opportunities for furtive liaisons in the souk and walking around Elephantine Island [not the Hotel end] - accessed by [regular] ferry [1-2LE an expensive private boat/felucca is not necessary]- you will definitely meet people!

You will get lots of hassle & offers of felucca rides with suggestions that more will be on offer. Points to note:
See note above about 'promises'!
Official rate for feluccas is about LE20 per hour for one passenger with two crew regardless of what they may tell you!
Those touting for business may not be the ones that sail with you & those that do may not own the boats & will use this [& any number of other excuses to demand extra money & tips later].
Be warned - often, if you refuse to pay extra they will suddenly become angry & threatening.
Sailing in a felucca is dependent on wind &, though the 'captains' know this they will 'accidently' find the wind against them so the trip takes longer, you won't get where you want to go & will, nevertheless, be charged extra.
There are really no places you can sail to [especially Banana Island] & back in a day where liaisons can take place unobserved [there are river police too] though the captain MAY allow you to discreetly grope him under his galabiya! The tiny cabins may be suggested but it would be easy to get caught/threatened in them.
Generally feluccas must be ashore by sunset unless you have booked a multiple day trip.
For the latter you will need a photocopy of your passport [NB it is useful to get a number of copies before you go away for hotels too rather than risk giving them your passport for them to make copies] for the captain to obtain official approval. Once again, expect a lot of money hassle & probably some disappointment unless you are very lucky!
If offered a massage, this usually means being buried to the neck in hot sand for 20min or so followed by a public, rough rub down rather than anything sensual!
Gay sex is technically not illegal in Egypt but, if caught in the act, prosecution for offending public decency could result. However, things can be quite ambiguous/contradictory & [especially if you are young] you may even get offers from soldiers & tourist police. Obviously responding to this is not without risk so be cautious! Also, in recent years, the police generally have been persecuting gays.

Finally, when I was last in Aswan [Nov 2005], they were building a 'tourist city' New Aswan where they were intending to relocate & better control the feluccas, etc

Re: internet - there are internet cafes almost everywhere in Egypt. Be cautious about arranging to meet people over the internet as many are hustlers & some may be police traps!

[bulls40]

very interesting ,i like very much,

[kosta]

Hamid...thanks for your note.....but what is very interesting...and what do you like very much...explain? are you from Egypt...kosta...

[Spoggit]

Just joining this thread (new member) - saltyshakes does make a valued contribution. As a resident (non-Arab) of Marrakech I can say that the situation is a little more open here. I can't advise on other Moroccan cities but travellers' tales from Fes are somewhat worrying.

[ButtyBoy]

Just joining this thread (new member) - saltyshakes does make a valued contribution. As a resident (non-Arab) of Marrakech I can say that the situation is a little more open here. I can't advise on other Moroccan cities but travellers' tales from Fes are somewhat worrying.

Sorry for posting off-topic but I think it's cool that you are living in Marrakech. Would love to chat with you and hear about your experiences, what it is like for you to live there. Perhaps I can pay you a visit there some time :) Is it okay if I send you a PM?

[scanner]

Just joined. Non-Arab from USA. Will be in Cairo and Luxor next week on a 10 day tour.Hoping to meet someone nice. Our hotels are booked through the tour. Will I be able to bring someone back to my room? I did make contactwith someone on the gay egypt site for a massage.

[saltyshakes]

Hi Scanner - check out my previous postings on Egypt & hotels - in brief, the answer is no [there are usually Tourist Police near reception of Tourist Hotels to prevent this] - if you've time in Luxor, would suggest you book into a cheap hotel & stay there rather than the tour hotel & you might get lucky with one of the other [arab] people staying there.

Also, a massage can mean a rough rub down or a very brief, expensive fuck. Hopefully you've been fortunate in hooking up with someone genuine but keep your wits about you, there are a lot of dodgy people/hustlers in Cairo & elsewhere.

[Spoggit]

No problems. Look forward to hearing from you.

[useruser]

What does "snogging" mean?

[saltyshakes]

Snogging is an English expression for kissing, especially passionate or 'French kissing' ie with tongues.:p

[smooth]

hi did anyone else ever hear of ''bel-ami'' kissing???? you just touch tongues when kissing? smooth steve

[geisha]

Hi guys!

Seems that the destination in talks here is Egypt.
I've been to Egypt before, in 2006, stayed for a brief 2 weeks there and visited Cairo, Alexandra, Luxor, Hurgarda and Aswan.
Charming place I must say, especially seeing where I'm coming from... Singapore. :rolleyes:

True enough, Cairo is not a good place to stay put too long, its noisy, dirty and full of chaos!
In comparison, I did enjoy my day trip to Alexandra instead.

I love Aswan!
Quiet, cheap, go sightsee or simply laze around in your hotel, the feeling is relaxing and heavenly.
I stayed at Basma hotel in Aswan, spend most of my evenings in the pool, ahhh... love that kinda feeling, still hope to go back there one day.

Speaking of my experience with Arab men there... well, did get stares here and there, but who to blame? I'm a fair Asian, stood out like a sore thumb there!
I received winks, fly kissess on and off, nice... kinda enjoyed it.
No sexual ones though... am I missing out something or what? Ha!


To Egypt, with LOVE
Geisha

[xboom3r]

Great info ;) TY

[hestusjon]

Both these articles make going to Arab countries hoping to meet some dreamy Shiek is less than prbable. I guess the best hope of meeting a cute Arab guy is right here in Dallas.

Better stay home in Kansas Dorothy - wouldn't want the wicked witch to get you!

Jon

[bulls40]

well ,you know ,very well,since the religion play a big part,nobody wants to take any risk,they prefer to play outside their country.unless of course you are very lucky to meet and play their

[Page]

I do find Tunesians and Egyptians a little on the bad side of proper cleanliness. But they treat their dicks better than their teeth, for example.

[bulls40]

have you tasted them???/or you were just watching there's difference

[hestusjon]

Yeah I tasted for myself - more Latins and only 1 Arab - they taste different.

[smooth]

i tasted a few lebanese guys ,they was so sweet ,cum like honey, the latin dudes was more spicy,,,,,,,,but i like it all.........

[geisha]

I agree... I've been to Egypt and they don't have nice teeth.
But I've not check out their dicks though... hmmm, what have I missed? :(

Now that u guys have mentioned, I do regret not tasting their dicks instead of looking at their teeth... oh my, what was I thinking then? :rolleyes:


Don't blame me...
Geisha

[pasdeloup]

egyptians r good muslims so they r clean, but u've got a point about their teeth

[scanner]

Yeah I didn't mean any disrepect. I just thought Egyptian men in general were so hot but those damn hooka pipes turn their teeth yellow. I only got to see one Egyptian dick and it was like a dream cum true.

[bulls40]

those hooka pipes it's very famous in the middle east and in a way ,you were right about turning their teeth yellow which is understandable.

[damono]

Now that information cant be found easily!Thanks for the effort:)

[abinowas]

very interesting experience
generalization alway bring erroneous conclusions
Egypt needs deeper understanding foe its deep secrets!
i 'll be there in July
please wait for my account

[abinowas]

I'll be in Cairo in July, please wait my account, i promise to avoid generalizations while i look into the deep secrets of the city

[saltyshakes]

Except for when I was in Tunisia, shisha smoking seemed to be popular mainly with older rather than younger men - at least in Morocco & Egypt. It is a generalisation but it does seem that, for cultural reasons [a twig of a specific plant is still often used in some places rather than a brush & toothpaste], whilst dental hygiene might be poorer in Arab than most European countries, genital hygiene is much better - men usually wash themselves after using the toilet & before sex. A specific reason for the former is because, according to Islam, underwear should be clean when praying. Another quirk I've noticed in the UK is Arab men wearing two pairs of underwear - perhaps so the inner pair can be removed before praying, perhaps the outer one is newer/designer - your guess is as good as mine.

Finally, shisha is also sometimes used as a euphemism for oral sex.

[zakivinn]

I was in Edgware Road a few days ago and sat outside a cafe. I had a coffee and watched numerous arab guys sitting there chatting, watching the world go by and smoking shisha. It was like being back in the Middle East again - wonderful. I am sure it is possible to try some of the other kind of shisha if you sit there long enough! Has anyone experience of meeting Arabian tourists in London?
ZV

[geisha]

Hey guys!

I've just realised that there is a hangout for Arabs in Singapore!
This place is called Arab Street and it is dotted with various cafes and restaurants set up by Arabs... yes, of course there is shisha available here.

So, next time u're in Singapore, u know where to head to...


Geisha

[giosy]

I have been invited from Maroccans in marrak and they told me they rnt a flt. NO Hotel it's dangerous! Be discrete!

[bulls40]

if you are invited,they have to stay with you,otherwise,whatever you do ,it's dangerous

[jhmmd1]

very interesting take on these customs. i would like to visit UAE and this info is helpful