enlglishmun

They probably are. About the concern for the local laws shared by some friends, you are correct. Be super careful in public, but you will be safe in private, specially if your date is in the privacy of your European hotel. 
My experience in Saharian Africa es limited to two weeks in Morocco, 30 years ago. If that experience is transferrable, the secret for your safety and the gate to experience the local culture is hiring one boy to be your local guide. In Spanish, we call them the "espantamoros", something like "scaremores". Not only they keep other hustlers away from you, but also bargain best prices (remember bargaining is the standard) in markets, keep you away from dangerous areas, give you the best possible tips on local life, and provide you any goods you may need, including themselves or of you do not want them, other male or female companions. They work for a vey low daily fee, and may even invite you to their homes to share a meal. 

Ive been a few times. Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays, all busy from midnight/1am onwards. There used to be a darkroom downstairs but that's closed now I believe. Three large bathrooms downstairs which are used for playing i think. Ive never seen a stripper there to be honest, I wonder if that's just the images they use to promote makes it look like there are strippers. Ive taken a few guys home after buying them a few drinks, 40euro was fine with all of them. Id watch your belongings. All the guys I had fun with were Albanian and spoke good english. All were beautiful, but maybe a little more rough around the edges than the guys on the fabeook page! 

Theres a real mix of guys at Bizzar, the staff are so welcoming there and will tell you to let them know if you spot someone you like etc. There was once a hunk of a barman working there, I believe straight, or gay for pay', he once stripped to just a jockstrap and flashed me his hole whilst serving me a beer. Good times!  

Hopefully this is not too late....I believe there are three good bars if your looking for guys to play. Bizarr which open Thursday to Sunday nights, TestMe open every night but Tuesday and Samis bar open everynight. All three have very welcoming staff members and owners.  All get busy after midnight on the weekend, weeknights can be hit and miss but you'll never be alone. Samis has a more middle eastern arabic crowd, not many Greek or Albanian guys like the other two places and its also in a bit of rough area. 

I have done a little research and here info.
https://www.facebook.com/samisbarathens/
Filis 34 (5,031.70 mi)
Athens, Greece 104 33
https://www.facebook.com/Test-Me-288424211616001/
Πιπίνου 64 (5,031.48 mi)
Athens, Greece 11251
https://www.facebook.com/bizzarathensclub/
Πατησίων & Δεριγνύ 20 (5,031.67 mi)
Athens, Greece 10434
I have not been to any of these places and would really like to hear about your observations and comments. Making plans to visit sometime in 2020. 
Bizzar Club looks very interesting to me and would love to know more.
Thank you very much
 
 
 
 
 
 

There is a Bar named Haspa that has rent boys and another bar nearby which name I can't remember, but I'm not sure if your hotel will allow them in. Have you explored Airbnb as an option instead? The guys there can take you to one of those pay per hour hotels but I imagine they are not nice. If you do take them back hide all your expensive laptops, phones, passports etc as the boys of Istanbul have sticky fingers. I learned the hardway with my iPad. They are gorgeous though! 
and yes there are may shady guys in the area who will try to stop you and offer you an amazing bar but just ignore them at all costs and head to Haspa, regular prices and I stayed in Istanbul for 6 month and was never ripped off or charged extra. 

A Singaporean doctor used his own blood to make sure that his American lover would pass an HIV test, allowing him to work in Singapore and live with the doctor. At some point in their relationship, the American got the names of some 14,000 Singaporeans with HIV and released them on the internet. Who knows why? Now the couple is in big trouble as indiscretions apparently led the government to discover the fraudulent tests. 8800 of those on the HIV list are foreigners, making one wonder why Singapore made such a big deal out of keeping out people with HIV. The list members now live in fear of their information going public. The story starts in 2008, and  is hard to quickly summarize, so here's the Washington Post report:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/02/01/an-american-hid-his-hiv-status-survive-singapore-exposed-he-punished-thousands-living-with-virus-authorities-say/?utm_term=.e018332108b1
 
 

I’d definitely prioritise safety over fun in Lebanon.
I can relate the experience of a good friend, a gay man, who was there on vacation 3 years ago. He’s savvy and he had visited 2x before, travelling with another male. On this last trip, he was travelling in a taxi a long distance to visit a particular site in the Bekaa Valley when the taxi was stopped at a roadblock. The roadblock was manned by Hamas and they decided to detain him and dismissed the taxi. He was held for about 4 hours and questioned as to his reasons for visiting. Luckily he was able to establish some rapport with one of the leaders (as they had both lived for some time in Madrid) and they decided to release him. The guards summoned a taxi to take him back to the city and told the driver not to charge him but to send the bill to Hamas.

There is a Bar named Haspa that has rent boys and another bar nearby which name I can't remember, but I'm not sure if your hotel will allow them in. Have you explored Airbnb as an option instead? The guys there can take you to one of those pay per hour hotels but I imagine they are not nice. If you do take them back hide all your expensive laptops, phones, passports etc as the boys of Istanbul have sticky fingers. I learned the hardway with my iPad. They are gorgeous though! 
and yes there are may shady guys in the area who will try to stop you and offer you an amazing bar but just ignore them at all costs and head to Haspa, regular prices and I stayed in Istanbul for 6 month and was never ripped off or charged extra. 

I had my first experience this place last weekend, I was a little bit late and they were closing in about an hour and a half. The host was very honest and said most Guys have gone home and there were only 2 left, he showed me them anyway. they were hot, very hot, but not my type so I skipped and it was totally fine and not awkward at all, although Im not 100% sold on the 2way mirror  I will definitely go back when I have more time. It was very relaxed and chilled. I asked about the frustrating early closing hours and he said they didn't want all the steaming drunk guys in looking for a quick fuck, totally get it now. 

What about Athens? beautiful city, great food and an array of rent boys from Albania, Middle East and Athes itself. All hot and willing to negotiate prices. 

I recently returned from Athens, 6 amazing, eye opening nights, I frequented a bar called Sammi's. Full of Middle Eastern men and their admirers. Had 2 very hot experiences, both guys I'm guessing were both straight, tops only with one of them being the best lay of my life! There is another bar there named 'test me' which apparently is similar, it was closed each time I went, the sign was there but the barrier was down on the window, tried it three times and gave up. If anyone knows if this place is still functioning let me know.