(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121029-gay-beirut-1.photoblog600.jpg)Marwan Naamani / AFP - Getty Images, fileTeddy, a Lebanese university graduate, performs a belly dance at a nightclub in Beirut, in this November 2007 file picture. By Shane FarrellBEIRUT, Lebanon – It is 2 a.m. in an abandoned theater in Hamra, a neighborhood in the Lebanese capital. Men pack the room, their fists pumping the air in time with the thumping music. A bare-chested dancer in tight-fitting shorts glides around the stage, reaching his hand around another man’s neck, pulling him close and stealing a kiss.
These parties are popular with those who can afford the $33 entrance fee. For those looking for an alternative, around a dozen different bars and clubs aimed at gay men dot the city.
Beirut has for decades been a haven for gay men and lesbians, luring people from throughout the region, including deeply conservative countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. But while the city’s image as an oasis of open-mindedness attracts foreigners - and sells newspapers (http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/travel/02gaybeirut.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1) - the liberal veneer disguises a conservative underbelly that recent police sweeps and reports of invasive “medical” tests have exposed.
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