Gay Arab Party Habibi Celebrates Ten Years of Hot Middle Eastern Men

(Greg, Chetan, Bassil at the Blue Owl)
 
The Blue Owl, a cozy East Village bar tucked under a storefront on Second Avenue and 13th Street played host to Sunday's special Presidents Day weekend edition of DJ IZ's long running party for Middle Eastern men, Habibi. The party attracts an incredibly diverse crowd of guys from the pan-Arabic world. We met Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Turkish and even a couple Indian guys too. We kept wondering where these boys have been hiding as there seemed to be so many fresh faces in attendance. And, unlike the real Middle East, all these disparate folks were getting along really well, especially on the dance floor where there was some bumping and a great deal of grinding, too.
 
"It's feels like the United Nations here," said a particularly tall Lebanase doctor we met who sweetly tried to teach us how to dance, Habibi-style. "But a lot more fun, of course."
 
The Habibi party, started by former accountant Abraham, is a monthly event which roams to different venues around the city. This weekend, Habibi was also celebrating it's 10th anniversary which may have amped up the festive mood. As we mingled with the friendly international crowd, we met an Egyptian named Ahmed who was actually at the very first Habibi party back in 2002. "It's almost like a high school reunion tonight," he said, surveying the crowd of friends, many of who he met at that very first Habibi. "The crowd is a little older now, but they still like to dance."  
 
Though the dance floor area was in a separate room when we first arrived, by midnight the whole club had become the dance floor as everyone did their best belly-dancer moves. We particularly loved watching this one gorgeous male/female couple by the bar dramatically acting out the music video for a song by the winner of Egypt Idol. In fact, most of the crowd was often singing along to the songs by Arabic pop stars. (Sadly, the only word we could pick out was "habibi" which in English means "my beloved" or "I love you" depending on how it's used.)
 
Though we weren't Arabic ourselves, we never feel left out. The crowd was surprisingly not cliquish and, in fact, was very inviting and social. If the Habibi party is any indication, there may still be hope for peace in the Middle East. But only if they let the gays run things.