Gay Travels in the Muslim World
from Harrington Park Press
Travel beyond the fear and paranoia of 9-11 to experience Muslim culture
Gay Travels in the Muslim World journeys where other gay travel books fear to tread--Muslim countries. This thought-provoking book tells both Muslim and non-Muslim gay men's stories of traveling in the Middle East during these difficult political times. The true, very personal tales reveal how gay men celebrate their lives and meetings with local men, including a gay soldier's story of his tour of duty in Iraq. Insightful and at times sexy, this intelligent book goes beyond 9-11 and the present political and cultural divides to illustrate the real experiences of gay men in trouble zones--in an effort to seek peace for all.
After the collapse of the Twin Towers, fears about terrorism and Muslim culture went hand in hand. Gay Travels in the Muslim World enters the current war zones to bring real and very personal stories of gay men who live and travel in these dangerous areas. This book challenges readers' preconceptions and assumptions about both homosexuality and being Muslim, while showing the wide range of experiences--good and bad--about the regions as well as the differences in attitudes and beliefs.
Excerpts from Gay Travels in the Muslim World:
From "I Want Your Eyes" by David Stevens
Men by themselves are rare. I pass a handsome Omani man sitting on the Corniche wall with a cigarette between his long brown fingers. He wears his colourful cuma cap at a jaunty angle and his mustard-coloured dishdasha has risen up to reveal tantalizingly hairy calves. I note the carefully made holes in his ears--not in his ear lobes but deep inside the cartilages--a pre-Islamic custom still practiced on some male babies to ward off evil spirits. I decide it suits him.
From "It All Began with Mamadou" by Jay Davidson
Drawing definitive conclusions about a society after living here for a little more than a year is not a wise, safe, or responsible action on my part. If a society's culture is a mosaic of thousands of little tiles, then I like to think that what I have been able to piece together has been a tableau in which certain aspects have become discernable, some are a little less clear, and others remain in a way that I will never see as whole and comprehensible.
From "A Market and a Mosque" by Martin Foreman
Sylhet, Bangladesh: It's eight o'clock in the evening and Tarique and Paritosh are taking me out to look at the cruising spots. Until I flew in here this afternoon, all I knew of the provincial city and the surrounding area was that it was where most of the Bangladeshis in the UK come from--and since most of the Bangladeshis in the UK live in my home borough of Tower Hamlets, I feel a kind of affinity with the place. Whether or not Sylhet feels an affinity with me is a different matter.
From "Work In Progress: Notes From A Continuing Journey of Manufacturing Dissent" by Parvez Sharma
In the construction of the image and life of the "queer" Muslim is also the awareness of the not so well known fact that a sexual revolution of immense proportions came to the earliest Muslims, some 1,300 years before the West had even thought about it. This promise of equal gender rights and, unlike in the Bible, the stress on sex as not just reproduction but also enjoyment within the confines of marriage has all but been lost in the rhetoric spewing from loudspeakers perched on Masjid's--or mosques--in Riyadh, Marrakech and Islamabad. The same Islam that has for centuries not only tolerated but also openly celebrated homosexuality is, today, used to justify a state-sanctioned pogrom against gay men in Egypt--America's "enlightened" friend in the Middle East.
Gay Travels in the Muslim World is a refreshing, well written look at gay rights and the post 9-11 paranoia about Islamic culture, perfect for anyone interested in the Middle East travel, politics, gay men who travel, and any specialist in Middle Eastern travel.
The Q Guide to Broadway (Pop Culture Out There Q Guide)
by Seth Rudetsky
from Alyson Books
The Great White Way has paved the way for some of the most legendary performers in history. But Broadway is more than a street, it's a community. In this Q Guide, a true Broadway expert takes theater fans on the ultimate insider's tour.
You Can Run: Gay, Glam, and Gritty Travels in South America (Out in the World) (Out in the World)
by Jesse Archer
from Haworth Press
From Machu Picchu to a cocaine purchase in a Bolivian jail--and beyond!
How do you rough it in extreme South American travels and still dare to be different? You Can Run: Gay, Glam, and Gritty Travels in South America follows the intrepid and fantastic--and totally true--adventures of flamboyant gay men through the gritty rough and tough of South America. Author Jesse Archer and his American boyfriend Zane spent nearly two years traveling the continent in search of adventure. And find it they did. Discover incredible individuals like Patricia the pink lady, the Wolfman of Borneo, and Santusa the fanged Chola of a different color. Thrill to the astounding experiences of dodging crocodiles, doing a striptease for a Colombian bathroom bitch, admiring exultant transsexuals caught in a rainstorm, and navigating the most dangerous road in the world. This wild travel chronicle takes you through the real South America with wit, wisdom--and a hot pink wig!
An excerpt from You Can Run:
Gerardo runs off to buy the meat for baiting piranha and then we're in his tin boat out on the choppy Amazon. The humidity and heat on the earth's surface here seems to bounce back into the sky and burst, returning a downpour of rain. Luckily Gerardo's tin can has a roof. Yet for some reason we aren't headed to the jungle, but downriver to a shantytown along the bank.
I ask where we are going and Gerardo feebly utters something in Portuguese. I can't make it out. Zane is now convinced I've employed a waterfront gangster. We pull up to a shoddy pier of three planks supported by timbers that rot in the lapping water.
"We should have gone with the other one!" Zane decries my flagrant frugality. "See? There's his accomplice." When Gerardo reappears outside the shack with another man Zane announces he hates to be killed with a cheapskate like me. "I'm gonna die, washed up over there with all that trash, my body all white and fat and . . . bloated!" zane has exercised too much in his life to die bloated. Dying bloated has just become the worst of all fates. Zane gasps earnestly to his active imagination. "Oh God, please not bloated!"
You Can Run is a funny, piercing, and poignant examination of memorable outcasts in the third world. Follow some of travel's most different adventure seekers--extreme travelers with a lot of sparkle!
50 Fabulous Gay-friendly Places to Live
by Gregory A. Kompes
from Career Press
****Includes Interactive CD****
If you're looking for a gay-friendly place to call home but can't decide among the urban hustle of New York, the laidback seaside of Key West, or the open, daily life of Minneapolis, this book is for you! Travelers, Urban Pioneers, gay families and those searching for a new hometown now have an easy-to-read book that profiles 50 of America's gay-friendliest cities.
Most guidebooks reduce coverage of the local gay community to lists - lists of bars, lists of dance clubs, lists of hotels, lists of resources. 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live surveys each location from a "local's point of view". It features cities that are fun places to live, work, and visit because they encourage and nurture diversity. Each location is described in detail, with special attention paid to information the gay community most wants to know, including:
Gay-positive local politics and policies. A dynamic gay community with well-sponsored activities and events. Fun nightlife in local clubs, bars and music. Cultural and recreational opportunities. Positive gay health and outreach programs.
Life is more than facts and figures, so you won't find a lot of confusing charts and rankings in these gay-friendly profiles. Each contains a vivid description, an overview of the gay community, and practical daily-life information on climate, housing costs, taxes, the local business environment, and much more. Interviews with local gay residents, community leaders, business owners, and cultural leaders create an intimate description of each location. You'll also find helpful phone numbers and websites to make exploring and planning your vacation or relocation easier. Rounding out the book are tips and national resources that will assist in making your own life and city more gay friendly. The book also includes an easy-to-use, interactive CD containing a wealth of information to make your search that much easier—and a lot more fun!
Gregory A. Kompes is a writer, photographer and public speaker with a degree in English from Columbia University. Driven by a natural curiosity about all things cultural and gay, he has traveled extensively throughout the United States, visiting museums, natural wonders, restaurants, bars, arenas, theaters, concert halls and gay ghettos. His articles on gay life, entertainment, and travel have appeared online and in print publications across the country. Gregory and his domestic partner, Todd, live in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Romanian: Story of an Obsession
by Bruce Benderson
from Tarcher
Winner of the 2004 Prix de Flore-one of France's most distinguished literary prizes-a wildly romantic, true-life love story
History follows a trail of sputtering desire, often calling upon the delusions of lovers to generate the sparks. If it weren't for us, the world would suffer from a dismal lack of stories," writes Bruce Benderson in this brutally candid memoir.
"What astonishes and intrigues is Benderson's way of recounting, in the sweetest possible voice, things that are considered shocking," wrote Le Monde. What's so shocking? It's not just Benderson's job translating Céline Dion's saccharine autobiography, which he admits is driving him mad; but his unrequited love for an impoverished Romanian in "cheap club-kid platforms with dollar signs in his squinting eyes," whom he meets while on a journalism assignment in Eastern Europe.
Rather than retreat, Benderson absorbs everything he can about Romanian culture and discovers an uncanny similarity between his own obsession for the Romanian (named Romulus) and the disastrous love affair of King Carol II, the last king of Romania (1893-1953). Throughout, Benderson-"absolutely free of bitterness, nastiness, or any desire to protect himself," wrote Le Monde-is sustained by little white codeine pills, a poetic self-awareness, a sense of humor, and an unwavering belief in the perfect romance, even as wild dogs chase him down Romanian streets.
Queens in the Kingdom: The Ultimate Gay and Lesbian Guide to the Disney Theme Parks
by Jeffrey Epstein
from Avalon Travel Publishing
Naked Places, A Guide for Gay Men to Nude Recreation and Travel, 5th edition
by Michael Boyd
from Mercury Productions
Naked Places is the gay manÂ’s guide to nude recreation around the world, with emphasis on sites in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Inside, youÂ’ll find information on nude beaches, hot springs and other natural areas that are popular with gay men, complete with detailed directions. Additionally, there are profiles of about 200 gay resorts, inns, guesthouses, campgrounds and other accommodations where you wonÂ’t need to pack a swimsuit for the pool and hot tub. Brand new for the 5th edition, about 500 nude beach listings include latitude and longitude coordinates. With this information, you can get a bird's eye view of these sites using the stunning technology of Google Earth (TM). Planning a European vacation? 100 pages of the book is devoted to the wealth of nude beaches in France, Spain, Greece and 18 other European countries. Open these pages and open the door to a whole world of Naked Places!
The Gay Vacation Guide: The Best Trips and How to Plan Them
by Mark Chesnut
from Kensington
Gay Vegas: A Guide To The Other Side of Sin City
by Steve Friess
from Huntington Press
Vegas As A Queer Fantasyland?
You bet!
These days, the ultimate heterosexual adult playground is so awash in pink and lavender, in hot guys and same-sex subtexts, that Bugsy and Sinatra would hardly recognize the town. Twenty-first century Sin City is a magnet for gay and lesbian travelers and a mecca for relocating gays. The major hotel-casinos conduct gay weddings. Shows such as Elton John, Zumanity, Mamma Mia!, and Le Reve couldn't be more overtly homoerotic or gay-friendly. Even the mayor gets in on the act -- he showed up for the opening of a gay club in drag!
Gay Vegas addresses the needs -- and desires -- of both visitors and locals. Get a brutally honestly, completely un-PC take on where to go and, perhaps even more important, where not to go when you touch down. And don't miss the pictorial on Vegas' most phallic!
This is the only gay guide to Las Vegas you'll ever need.
Cleopatra's Wedding Present: Travels through Syria (Living Out: Gay and Lesbian Autobiographies)
by Robert Tewdwr Moss
from University of Wisconsin Press
Cleopatra’s Wedding Present is the rare book that captivates its reader from the first page. Like the best travel books, Robert Tewdwr Moss’s memoir of his travels through Syria resonates on many levels: as a profoundly telling vivisection of Middle Eastern society, a chilling history of ethnic crimes, a picaresque adventure story, a purely entertaining travelogue, and a poignant romance.
Tewdwr Moss, a brilliant young writer who was murdered in London the day after he finished this book, left this lyrical gem as his legacy. He adeptly captures an essence of the Middle East that is foreign to most of us, but which becomes real with his astute observations of the region’s culture and explosive politics. He conveys what so many westerners find both fascinating and frightening in the Middle East, making no attempt to mask circumstances that are appalling and dangerous while also exotic, beautiful, and sometimes very funny.
Mesopotamia, now present-day Syria, was part of Mark Anthony’s love gift to Cleopatra. Then and now, it is a land of mystery and love.
The Wisconsin edition is only for sale in the United States and it's dependencies.
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