While there is an underground scene for the gay community in gay Cairo and Alexandria, tapping into it comes with a risk. For this reason, the situation for LGBTQ+ travellers and locals remains tense and Egypt gay tourism development is stifled. Even as recently as 2017, there was a government crackdown on the gay Egypt community with a number of queer spaces being raided which resulted in 57 arrests. Though homosexuality is technically not a crime in Egypt, prosecution under debauchery and public morals laws is a reality for some.
Getting the less-than-ideal facts out of the way, it must be said that Egypt remains a highly conservative country that seems to be getting worse, not better in terms of LGBT rights.
