Turkey: Portugue Tourist Says He Was Jailed For Lookg Gay

Contents:

• EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY
• GAY TURKEY TRAVEL GUI
• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS TURKEY
• GAY FRIENDLY TURKEY TOURS
• IS TURKEY GAY IENDLY? - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM
• IS TURKEY GAY IENDLY - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM
• IS TURKEY GAY IENDLY? - TüRKIYE FOM
• TURKEY: PORTUGUE TOURIST SAYS HE WAS JAILED FOR LOOKG GAY

EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY

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.

A mon startg pot on any self-rpectg gay Turkey travel erary, Istanbul troduc newers to all of the herage, all at once. 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. While there is no overt Ankara gay bar, spots such as Bistro SAVOY and Sixtie Club draw a firm LGBT crowd as gay Ankara meetg pots.

GAY TURKEY TRAVEL GUI

As far as gay Izmir go, the cy is relatively liberal but due to LGBT rights Turkey, Izmir gay bar optns nstantly e and go. 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.

Those lookg for gay Antalya may be disappoted by s lack of gay bars but thankfully there’s always a Turkish bath to splash about ! 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?

This is a siar suatn to gay right Indonia and Malaysia and shows no signs of lettg up. 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.

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS TURKEY

Unlike many Mlim untri, Turkey do not technilly outlaw homosexualy. In fact, same-sex sexual activy was legalized the Ottoman Empire 1858 and homosexualy has been legal sce 1923 when morn Turkey was found.

GAY FRIENDLY TURKEY TOURS

This is spe the efforts of some opposn parti who have attempted to troduce bills that would allow gay and transgenr people legal protectn.

IS TURKEY GAY IENDLY? - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM

Although homosexualy is technilly legal, life as a member of the LGBT muny Turkey n be extremely challengg. A report published by Human Rights Watch 2008 showed how gay and transgenr muni face a threat of vlence and discrimatn on a daily basis. 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.

Public displays of affectn between heterosexual upl are owned upon as well, so any travelers would be advised to be discrete, not jt gay travelers.

IS TURKEY GAY IENDLY - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM

Generally speakg, gay travelers should feel fortable gog all over the untry and not let any fear lim their adventur. The ma gay district there is around Taksim and Beyoğlu is also an extremely forward-thkg area. 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.

Gay travelers the untrysi should take extra re to be discreet.

Gay upl or sgle gay travelers hopg to meet people should not experience any issu if they are booked ternatnal, upsle hotels. Serviced apartments or Airbnb are also acmodatn optns that will save gay travelers havg to n the gntlet of a 24-hour receptn.

IS TURKEY GAY IENDLY? - TüRKIYE FOM

Asi om the glori, gay travelers will have to go to specific areas to fd anythg like a gay scene. As outled above, Istanbul or the beach rorts are the bt plac for gay travelers to go to if they’re lookg to party all night.

TURKEY: PORTUGUE TOURIST SAYS HE WAS JAILED FOR LOOKG GAY

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. 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.

In the face of adversy, there’s a strong feelg of fay the Turkish gay muny and ’s good to get to know more about . 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.

Compared to almost everywhere else the Middle East (Tel Aviv asi), Turkey is (still) one of the more liberal untri gay travelers n vis. Clear displays of affectn will be unfavorable (for gay and straight upl) and some areas might be better to avoid.