Tips for Gay and Lbian Travelers Turkey | Frommer's

Contents:

• EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY
• GAY DATG ISTANBUL
• TURKISH GAYS FACE GRADG TTS TO AVOID ARMY
• IS SAFE FOR A GAY MAN TO VIS TURKEY ON HIS OWN? - ISTANBUL FOM
• GAY MAN IMPRISONED TURKEY SEEKS TO BE REPATRIATED TO FRANCE AFTER SUFFERG BTAL HOMOPHOBIC ATTACKS BEHD BARS
• MAN JAILED TURKEY FOR 20 DAYS JT BEE HE ‘LOOKED GAY’
• TURKEY: PORTUGUE TOURIST SAYS HE WAS JAILED FOR LOOKG GAY
• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS TURKEY
• 'I WAS BEATEN UP BY TURKISH POLICE AND JAILED BEE I 'LOOKED GAY''
• HAVG A GAY OLD TIME TURKEY
• QUEERG SEXUALI TURKEY: GAY MEN, MALE PROSTUT AND THE CY
• GAY LIFE MORN TURKEY
• VERY VERY GAY IENDLY HAMAM - DAVUTPASA ISKELE HAMAMI
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• ESTATE AGENT JAILED FOR VIC ATTACK ON TWO GAY MEN HOLDG HANDS

EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY

There, zenn equently perform (whout a sexual element) for straight-intified male dienc says filmmaker Mehmet Bay, whose 2012 feature Zenne Dancer explor the iendship between an Istanbul zenne dancer, a German photographer, and a gay “bear” om the nservative Urfa provce.

Back when Bay and his llaborator Caner Alper started rearchg zenne 2006, they saw as a “vanishg culture” – found only ral areas and a few unrground gay clubs Istanbul. But the past half-, zenne dancg Istanbul has gone mastream: bolstered by the media attentn paid to Bay and Alper's film as well as the succs of gay crossover clubs like Chanta: which ter their zenne shows to a largely heterosexual, female clientele. When he was 15 or 16, a iend enuraged him to start dancg publicly, but the only work he uld fd was a seedy gay nightclub Istanbul's Aksaray district.

While the Turkish ernment do not crimalize homosexualy – nor do provi LGBT dividuals wh any formal protectn om discrimatn – cultural attus toward homosexualy are largely negative; acrdg to a 2011 poll nducted as part of the World Valu Survey, a full 84 percent of Turks intified gays and lbians among their least sirable neighbors.

GAY DATG ISTANBUL

And although Istanbul particular has beg creasgly welg to gays – Istanbul's annual Gay Pri para is the largt any majory-Mlim untry -- the risg thread of Islamism the Turkish ernment is slowg progrs for LGBT rights. In 2013, Turkey’s prime mister at the time, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cricizg the adoptn of a Turko-Dutch boy by a Dutch lbian uple, publicly lled homosexualy a “sexual preference, which is ntrary to the culture of Islam. Though homosexualy is not nsired a crimal offence (same-sex sexual activy beg legalised by the Ottoman Empire 1858), tolerance towards gay people is limed and s of vlence have been known to occur.

As of 2016, followg an attempted up, the untry has been ntrolled by a religly nservative print, wh the rult beg ltle to no progrs the area of gay rights.

LGBT people are currently not protected by law, and Ankara meanwhile, a prohibn on all LGBT activy has been the bad news out of the way, remas to be said that travellers who act wh discretn, gay and straight alike, are unlikely to experience any trouble while Turkey. Fd the gay muny wh any of Turkey’s big ci, particularly Istanbul where gay life thriv the safety of packed dance floors, hidn bars and ever-prent hammam bathho. Turkey’s most open-md cy, Gay Istanbul n easily be found the area around Taksim but be reful when explorg lser-veloped areas outsi of the centre, the tradnal muny of Tophane for example where tourists may not be weled que so Dpa Galani2.

TURKISH GAYS FACE GRADG TTS TO AVOID ARMY

Check onle for the latt gay-iendly bars and clubs, and, if explorg the Izmir gay scene, be discreet on the street and aware that htlers and hookers may be operatg the area. Check datg and hook-up apps for hts as to where to fd the Amasya gay muny, most likely wh the Turkish baths about | Photo: Emre ZaimogluWant to simplify luxury travel planng?

Unfortunately, this is havg a very real and visible effect on LGBT rights Turkey that gay travelers to the area should take to acunt when planng a trip.

IS SAFE FOR A GAY MAN TO VIS TURKEY ON HIS OWN? - ISTANBUL FOM

The social suatn for members of the gay muny is better smopolan Istanbul than ral areas, where honor killgs still occur; but whether or not people feel fortable g out to their fay and iends pletely pends on their own ntext and would still mean a number of risks.

Istanbul and some of the most tourist-iendly areas, such as Bodm, have a fairly thrivg gay scene, wh pulsg dance floors, gay bars, and hamams; but many lols who are volved the gays scene by night are livg a different life by day, as they are not able to be open wh their fay or iends, and certaly not at work, where they uld worry about the impact would have on their future. Even Ankara and Izmir, Turkey’s pal and most Wtern-leang cy rpectively, don’t have anythg that close to beg scribed as a ‘gay scene’, so while they’re tertg plac to vis, gay travelers shouldn’t expect a party.

There is also a range of hamams, but they are equented by everyone bee they are such a tradnal Turkish experience, so gay travelers should not assume they are specifilly gay foced.

GAY MAN IMPRISONED TURKEY SEEKS TO BE REPATRIATED TO FRANCE AFTER SUFFERG BTAL HOMOPHOBIC ATTACKS BEHD BARS

Gettg to know people is one of the bt thgs about travelg and that’s particularly important a place like Turkey, where the gay scene is not always ‘ your face’. If you are stayg Istanbul or a seasi rort like Antalya, startg a night out a known gay-iendly bar is a good way to get chattg to lols and then plan your night om there. Hor is the most prevalent gay social workg app Turkey (Grdr is banned), ’s sensible to stall a high-qualy VPN to protect privacy and avoid censorship.

MAN JAILED TURKEY FOR 20 DAYS JT BEE HE ‘LOOKED GAY’

WorldGay men Turkey seekg exemptn om the untry's mandatory ary service mt prove their homosexualy, the BBC reports, even though many army physicians realize 's medilly impossible to terme sexual orientatn. A BBC report says gay Turks wishg to avoid ary service mt prove their homosexualy, often by submtg explic photos or answerg qutnnair om a health panel.

TURKEY: PORTUGUE TOURIST SAYS HE WAS JAILED FOR LOOKG GAY

(Associated Prs)Gay men Turkey seekg exemptn om the untry's mandatory ary service mt prove their homosexualy, the BBC reports, even though many army physicians realize 's medilly impossible to terme sexual rultg procs to obta a so-lled "pk certifite" allowg gays to dodge nscriptn — and potentially dangero ployments to bat Kurdish separatists — is often huiatg, the Brish public broadster says a documentary airg Tuday. 'They asked me if I liked football, whether I wore women's cloth or ed women's perfume'—Ahmet, gay nscript TurkeyIt's mon for gay men to subm explic photographs, unrgo personaly tts and answer qutnnair about their sexual preferenc. Lackg any valid "diagnostic tools, " a physician told the BBC World Service, potential gay drafte mt prepare whatever evince they n to nvce a ary health panel of their homosexualy, sometim emed as a "psychosexual disorr.

""They asked me if I liked football, whether I wore women's cloth or ed women's perfume, " said one gay nscript his man, g the name Ahmet to protect his te inty, said he refed requts to show a health panel pictur of himself drsed as a woman. (Murad Sezer/Associated Prs)One former army psychiatrist said doctors feel prsure om ary manrs to diagnose homosexualy, "even though there really are no diagnostic tools to terme sexual orientatn.

"''It is medilly impossible, and not at all ethil, " he are no laws explicly banng homosexualy Turkey and thoands marched the 2011 gay pri para Istanbul.

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS TURKEY

Still, homosexualy is not wily tolerated and gays n still face discrimatn by employers and are nsired unf for ary service as they n e "disciplary problems" and would require separate lodggs and washrooms, a retired manr, Armagan Kuloglu, reasoned. Although homosexualy is not wily tolerated  Turkey due to social stigma, the possibily that straight men might feign beg gay to avoid ary service is a ncern for the army, acrdg to the BBC report. [[There was a moment when the mayor of Kadasi cid to ban a "gay cise ship" (I may have mixed a metaphor there) - but he soon saw sense when the lol trars explaed to him the "power of the pk pound".

A Frenchman servg time a prison Turkey is seekg to be repatriated after beg the target of a number of vlent homophobic attacks by fellow Azoulay, a 43-year-old French natnal of Jewish scent, was sentenced to nearly 17 years prison for buyg a recently-banned nartic onle durg a short trip to Istanbul 2017.

'I WAS BEATEN UP BY TURKISH POLICE AND JAILED BEE I 'LOOKED GAY''

Azoulay was therefore unaware that this product had been classified as an illegal nartic Turkey, ” one of his lawyers, Carole-Olivia Montenot, told France he was imprisoned, more than three years ago, Azoulay has been the victim of btal attacks bee of his sexual orientatn and his Jewish attacks have even sent him to a hospal, acrdg to November 2019, a fellow prisoner who knew he was gay “threw boilg water all over Fabien’s body, g send-gree burns, ” she said, addg that he had to be transferred to a Azoulay has been locked up for more than three years. It isn’t illegal to be gay Turkey, but the untry has bee an creasgly hostile place for queer people wh senr policians, relig lears and retailers lnchg attacks on the LGBTQ+ muny. Although homosexualy is legal Turkey, we're talkg about a fairly nservative culture, so discretn is advisable -- even if Turkish men are to more public displays of affectn wh each other than wh their wiv.

Still gayns is g more and more out of the closet Turkey; 2009, more than 3, 000 members of the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) muny attend the Pri March Istanbul.

HAVG A GAY OLD TIME TURKEY

Kaos GL () was the first gay and lbian magaze Turkey; their onle prence has a substantial sectn English, wh featur addrsg issu affectg gays and lbians Turkey.

QUEERG SEXUALI TURKEY: GAY MEN, MALE PROSTUT AND THE CY

Miguel Alvaro was solo holidayg Istanbul last month when he went out to meet a iend for lunch and beme lost, so asked policemen for directns before sudnly he was taedMiguel told Portugue outlet P3 that one of the officers orred him to be arrted immediatelyA Portugue man claims he was arrted Turkey and kept a squalid prison for nearly three weeks bee he "looked gay". Print Recep Tayyip Erdogan vilified gay people durg his re-electn mpaign, llg them a threat to society and rallyg nservativ agast them - sayg gay people would never "filtrate" his erng party.

However, ’s important to remember that Istanbul is pal of an Islamic untry; for all s liberal aspects, Turkey is chg s way closer to Middle Eastern valu daily, and this is havg a knock-on effect on LGBT rights Istanbul that gay travelers to the area should take to nsiratn.

GAY LIFE MORN TURKEY

Homosexualy is not illegal Turkey: between adults, same-sex sexual activy was ma legal the Ottoman Empire 1858, and sce morn Turkey’s foundatn 1923 has always been legal.

However, there are some rather ambiguo bans the crimal on “offens agast public moraly” which n be terpreted agast LGBT people and homosexuals are banned om ary service.

VERY VERY GAY IENDLY HAMAM - DAVUTPASA ISKELE HAMAMI

Currently, there are no anti-discrimatn laws Turkey that protect LGBT people om discrimatn the public sphere or employment, although opposn parti have tried to troduce bills providg legal protectn for gay and transgenr people. A report published by Human Rights Watch 2008 outled the daily threat of vlence and discrimatn faced by gay and transgenr people, wh sufficient reactn om police and the thori.

The social suatn for members of the gay muny is better smopolan Istanbul than ral areas but whether or not people feel fortable g out to their fay and iends is extremely ntext-pennt and still pos a number of risks.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

Istanbul has a fairly thrivg gay scene, wh pulsg dance floors, gay bars, and hamams; but many lols who participate are livg a double life, beg unable to be open wh their fai or at work for fear of the negative impact uld have on their future. The shift towards nservatism Turkey as a whole do not bo well, but Istanbul’s long-tablished liberal character uld hold firm agast a risg ti of anti-gay feelg and hopefully ph that ti back.

Generally speakg LGBT rights Istanbul are fairly well-tablished and is a very gay-iendly cy, although most of the gay life happens doors or at night. Asi om the wealth of historic and cultural sights, there is a relatively thrivg gay scene Istanbul wh plenty of bars, clubs, f, and rtrants to choose om. There is also a range of hamams, but as a tradnal Turkish experience they are equented by everyone, so travelers should not assume they are specifilly gay foced.

ESTATE AGENT JAILED FOR VIC ATTACK ON TWO GAY MEN HOLDG HANDS

In fact, the current climate, snas and hamams will actively avoid beg labeled as ‘gay-iendly, ’ so is better jt to enjoy the as cultural experienc unls you are wh someone the know.

Gettg to know people is one of the bt thgs about travelg and that’s particularly important a place like Istanbul, where the gay scene is not always ‘ your face.