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By Lino DiNallo

Gay Tangier was considered very liberal (at the time)

Before sailors flocked to the sleazy leather bars of 1970s San Francisco. Before buxom bears rolled around in the sandy surf of Sitges like a Belinda Carlisle video. And well before Sรฃo Paulo broke records for hosting the largest pride parade, the worldโ€™s first gay-cation destination was born in Tangier. While Moroccoโ€™s politics clearly took a hard right turn since the 1950s, the gays left their mark. Today, the nation remains one of our most popular destinations, and our new Tangier to Marrakech tour kicks off where it all began.

In fact, Tangier was once more liberal than America

Between the late 40s and early 50s, when Tangier was an international zone with limited rule, the gay literati (glitterati?!) began flocking to the port city. Think William S Burroughs, Tennessee Williams, Allen Ginsberg, Jean Genet, and Truman Capote (author of Breakfast at Tiffanyโ€™s and the subject of Feud Season 2: Capote vs. The Swans). It was a haven for fans of sex, drugs, and generalized debauchery.

Their days were spent at the Grand Cafรฉ de Paris โ€“ which not only remains open, but also popular with a whole new crowd. Theyโ€™ve added modern comforts, but the original lights with ornate metal plates remain, not to mention the waiters look like theyโ€™ve stepped back in time, when modest tourists were the odd ones out.

In his diary, English playwright and author Joe Orton recalled being chastised for loudly recounting a lurid sexcapade by some stuffy Americans. He boldly reminded them they had โ€œno right to be occupying chairs reserved for decent sex perverts.โ€

But the real fun began once the sun went down. They traded their coffee for booze. Lots of it. And drugs. And prostitutes (sometimes unfortunately young). You could get as down and dirty as you wanted. Or frequent more pretentious bars and parties with the high-end gays. You could smoke hash in the streets and buy opiates over the counter. This was an international zone, after all. Islamic law only applied to Muslims. Judaic law to Jews. And while the international crowd was looked down on, they got away with all of the above.

One hostel was especially popular. El Muniria, like the Grand Cafe, remains open today. This is actually where William S Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch, his most famous book. It was semi-autobiographical and so filthy it was brought to trial on obscenity charges in Boston (and subsequently banned).

Living in Room 9, he had a small walled garden where a palm tree still grows. He befriended a male prostitute named Kiki from the brothel downstairs but was once married to a woman (whom he accidentally killed during a drunken game of William Tell). He also happened to be high on heroin the whole damned time. After a stint in rehab and switching to Moroccan hashish jelly as his chosen vice, he wondered how he ever wrote the book.

“There was one guyโ€ฆhe kept falling off his chair. I asked him what was wrong and he recommended I take a trip too. I replied that whatever kind of trip he meant, I wasn’t into rolling around on the floor.”

-John Sutcliff, former owner of El Muniria, on American poet and Beatnik Writer Gregory Corso (who wasnโ€™t gay, but was apparently amenable to sleeping with fellow writer Allen Ginsberg)

And where there are writers, there are bookstores. Librairie des Colonnes, launched in 1949, also remains open. It stocks few English books today, but you may have better luck with Spanish, French and/or Arabic.

The current owner has a polarizing reputation โ€“ reviews seem to indicate you either love him or hate him (and how he runs the place), but previous owners include Pierre Bergรฉ, the life and business partner of Yves Saint Laurent. He purchased the shop after the iconic fashion designerโ€™s death.

โ€œBefore coming to Tangier, one should say good-bye to all friends โ€“ one might never see them again. People had come here for a brief holiday, to settle down and let the years go by.โ€

-Truman Capote


The queer history doesnโ€™t stop in Tangier

While Tangier is where it all began, thereโ€™s more queer history to explore on our Morrocan tour!

Weโ€™ll visit The Caves of Hercules, named after the exceedingly bisexual Roman God. Mythology alleges Heracles (his original Greek name) slept here before he went on to steal the golden apples of the Hesperides. If youโ€™re a fan of Greek mythology, this was the eleventh of his Twelve Labours, acts of service assigned by King Eurystheus.

At our final stop in Marrakech, weโ€™ll visit the Jardine Majorelle. Originally built by French landscape painter Jacques Majorelle to flaunt his impressive collection of rare and exotic plants, the property fell into disrepair after his death. But it was discovered, purchased, and spared from hotel developers by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in 1980. When Saint Laurent passed in 2008, his ashes were scattered here.

Read more!

If you want a peek at life in these literary circles during Tangierโ€™s homosexual heyday, consider Michelle Greenโ€™s The Dream at the End of the World: Paul Bowles and the Literary Renegades in Tangier. While married to a woman, both Paul and his wife Jane were polyamorous and engaged in homosexual hedonism.


Interested in visiting magical Morocco? Our Tangier to Marrakech tour is designed to showcase the best of the desert nation while including ample free time to relax and/or explore famous medinas. Contact Us if you have any questions!

Lino DiNallo has been writing for Out Adventures for over a decade.