Silk Road Adventures

[Trixie]

I know, this post really belongs in the "Asia" section, but as these places were formerly part of the SU, I thought there might be a glimmer of hope for a response in the Europe section.

In 7 weeks, I shall be on my way to Uzbekistan & Kyrgyzstan... I'll be in Bishkek, Osh, Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara. If any gays here have blazed the way before me, please do offer any insights you have to share. Especially about meeting places and, concerning boys on the street, knowing when to hold and when to fold.

 

Trix

[Steven_Draker]

When I opened my brand new copy of the International gay guide Spartacus 2004/2005 I found the following information:

 

Kyrgyzstan

 

"Homosexuality was legalized on January 1st, 1998, repealing the old Soviet article 121,1 which made homosexuality illegal. Article 130 of the new Criminal Code legalizes homosexual acts unless they involve "force" or "take advantage of the weakness of the victim". We have no information regarding the age of consent for homosexuals. Kyrgyzstan is doing more than most Central Asian republics to encourage tourism due to the fact that tourism is one of the few things it has to sell to the outside world.

There are no examples of fantastic architecture or numerous cultural events but the people are friendly and very keen to meet foreigners. The gay scene is limited to a few bars in the capital city Bishkek."

 

Happy hunting and good luck with your endeavours.

 

Steven Draker ~

[Guest msclonly]

Perhaps they are good cooks!

[adriano46]

Trix,

 

You might want to try to glean some information from this site:

[http://www.qguys.ru/index.php]

 

It sometimes is very slow loading and sometimes appears to have "disappeared" but if you are persistent, you might get information you need as they have information on nearly all the places you mentioned.

 

IF you do not read Russian, click on the British flag for the English version (not as complete).

 

No matter, the third box center has a pull down menu on cities and countries. I hope you get some info but note that the places you mentioned are former Soviet states and have mixed reviews on their current freedoms and development.

[Trixie]

I found an interesting site called gayEgypt.com (lot's of interesting stuff to read and some enticing photos if anyone's heading to Egypt) with message boards for many muslim cities. I've made a few contacts in Uz and Kyr... seems that there is a "rent" area in Tashkent, although it's heavily patrolled. One "mixed" bar in Bishkek. But there again, police harassment is a problem, even though it's now legal in Kyr.

 

 

Trix