Answer 1 of 12: Planng a trip to Turkey by myself and wanted to know if was safe for a gay male to travel there alone. Thanks.
Contents:
- GAY TURKEY TRAVEL GUI
- TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS TURKEY
- EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY
- TURKEY: PORTUGUE TOURIST SAYS HE WAS JAILED FOR LOOKG GAY
- IS SAFE FOR A GAY MAN TO VIS TURKEY ON HIS OWN? - ISTANBUL FOM
- GAY FRIENDLY TURKEY TOURS
- MAN JAILED TURKEY FOR 20 DAYS JT BEE HE ‘LOOKED GAY’
- HAVG A GAY OLD TIME TURKEY
- VERY VERY GAY IENDLY HAMAM - DAVUTPASA ISKELE HAMAMI
- IS TURKEY GAY IENDLY - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM
- 5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
- MAN ARRTED TURKEY AND LOCKED UP FOR 20 DAYS 'BEE HE LOOKED GAY AND WAS WEARG A CROP TOP'
GAY TURKEY TRAVEL GUI
, statn travel guis wh a gay perspective. * a gay turkey *
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. In fact, same-sex sexual activy was legalized the Ottoman Empire 1858 and homosexualy has been legal sce 1923 when morn Turkey was found. This is spe the efforts of some opposn parti who have attempted to troduce bills that would allow gay and transgenr people legal protectn.
TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS TURKEY
Here's a gui to tips for gay and lbian travelers Turkey - everythg you need to know. * a gay turkey *
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.
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.
EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY
Disver the bt of gay Turkey, cludg Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ankara, Mard, Izmir, Eph, Pamkale, Çanakkale, Bodm and Antalya. * a gay turkey *
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. 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.
TURKEY: PORTUGUE TOURIST SAYS HE WAS JAILED FOR LOOKG GAY
Turkish police attacked and arrted hundreds at the Istanbul Pri March last weekend, a sweepg display of vlence and discrimatn agast lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people, as well as journalists attemptg to report on the June 26 event. The number of arrts 2022 is three-tim more than the arrts durg the prev seven Istanbul Pri march bed. Thirty-four of those arrted were youth, acrdg to Kaos GL, a Turkish LGBT rights group. * a gay 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. 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. 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?
IS SAFE FOR A GAY MAN TO VIS TURKEY ON HIS OWN? - ISTANBUL FOM
A 34-year-old Portugue man was arrted by the police while vatng Turkey bee he "looked gay", Portugue media reported. * a gay turkey *
(Istanbul) – Turkish police attacked and arrted hundreds of people at the Istanbul Pri March on June 26, 2022, a sweepg display of vlence and discrimatn agast lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people, Human Rights Watch said today. The same day, Fahrett Altun, Print Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s munitns director, ma an anti-LGBT speech, sayg that “Fai and children [are] targeted through … tolerance for homosexualy propaganda” and llg homosexualy “ugls. In tradnal Ottoman practice, the termology of “gay” and “straight” was largely absence om disurse, as explaed by scholar Serkan Görkemli.
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. Even among Istanbul's sizable gay muny, for whom zenne dancg might have particular ronance, “people would rather watch drag shows or go-go boys. 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.
GAY FRIENDLY TURKEY TOURS
* a gay turkey *
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. 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.
In practice, they are often forced to provi gradg pornographic imag of themselv or be subject to a rectal examatn to “prove” their homosexualy. Drag performer Kika stume, Istanbul, 2019Cred: Elazar ZvelAnother book featur dozens of letters he wrote to two iends, a uple Paris, wh whom he dreamed of the day when gay men Turkey uld raise the Pri banner and fight for regnn.
MAN JAILED TURKEY FOR 20 DAYS JT BEE HE ‘LOOKED GAY’
Gay and lbian iendly Turkey tours om Istanbul, We offer daily tours, packag tours, blue cis om Antalya, Bodm, Marmaris, Fethiye, Cappadocia,Eph and more * a gay turkey *
But believe me, I’ve never lacked for lovers, bee the machos don’t thk that if they ocsnally want to have sex wh a man that means they’re gay.
Heymann is gay, a father of tws who joed him on the trip wh their mother and grandmother, who was born Turkey and had never vised Istanbul. Activist ont of a pri flag and banner jt set up on a bridge over the Bosphos, Istanbul, Turkey, June 20, 2019Cred: Ömer Tevfik ErtenThat eveng, at the offic of the LGBT associatn, Heymann gave a lecture on his work to young members of the gay muny. The two dozen young people, who had e to hear a “gay film director, ” met a profsnal who strs that, above all, he wants to make good art.
HAVG A GAY OLD TIME TURKEY
A gay Portugue man claims he was arrted Istanbul, Turkey and held for 20 days jail, jt bee he “looked gay”. * a gay turkey *
Turkey Boytts Eurovisn Israel Over LGBT Artists Sex Parti, Dgs and Closeted Clergy: Unrver the Vatin What Israelis Can Learn From Turkish LGBT Activists, and Vice Versa Everyone has room unr his sun, he kept repeatg wh great enthiasm; and Heymann has always ma room his movi for homophob. In a clip he showed om his film “The Queen Has No Crown” – which tells the story of Jesalem's first gay pri para – ’s clear how his mera is ptivated by ultra-Orthodox Jews there to prott. In his seri “Paper Dolls, ” which vers a drag band om the Philipp on tour Israel, the shockg homophobia be the heart of the matter when a taxi driver directs his hatred at the two drag sgers who have jt gotten off, wh Heymann stg bi him.
VERY VERY GAY IENDLY HAMAM - DAVUTPASA ISKELE HAMAMI
Davutpasa Iskele Hamami: Very very gay iendly hamam - See 20 traveler reviews, ndid photos, and great als for Istanbul, Turkiye, at Tripadvisor. * a gay turkey *
Tomer Heymann at the Pera Mm, Istanbul, November 24, 2019Cred: Eng Sengec / Pera MmObvly, the state of the LGBT muny is better Israel than Turkey, and ’s clear that Tel Aviv is nsired the gay paradise of the Middle East. But ironilly, Istanbul is far ahead, remag wh ci like Marrakech Moroc and the island of Mykonos Greece a lostone for gay people around the world, regardls of the real suatn on the ground. “In the list of thgs that need changg Turkey there are a few more important thgs than the problems of gay men, such as vlence agast women and the murr of women, " she said.
IS TURKEY GAY IENDLY - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM
Maybe bee his films are above all about humanism and empathy – even those wh heavy homoerotic scen – the movie theater at the mm was packed on the retrospective’s openg night.
I was nvced that the betiful girls stg at the bar wag for ctomers had life stori siar to the on “The Kiss Murr”: betiful gay young men om the provc who had e to the big cy dreamg of makg money this profsn before returng home to a regular life. Murat has watched for years as LGBT people who face persecutn the Middle East have found refuge his smopolan neighbourhood of, the face of growg ernment hostily and vrl om Turkish Print Recep Tayyip Erdogan towards lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people, the young gay man says he has jt one wish: to leave. "From cendiary ernment mister tweets to censorship of gay characters on TV and media-led boytts of LGBT-iendly brands, a growg animosy is suffotg Turkey's ee-spired LGBT the procs, the attacks have tarnished Turkey's image as a haven of tolerance the socially nservative Mlim groups believe Erdogan is attackg their muny to distract his supporters om Turkey's enomic travails.
5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
"- Steady sli -Homosexualy is not illegal Turkey, but homophobia is there are no official figur, Turkey has slid down the LGBT rights x published by the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) year, was ranked 48th out of the 49 untri ILGA lists s Eurasia GL, one of the olst LGBT rights groups Turkey, last year unted more than 2, 000 news articl qualified as discrimatory -- a 40-percent jump on before the Bogazici artwork sndal, the LGBT muny felt like was g unr siege.
Last year, Netflix ncelled the productn of a Turkish seri featurg a gay character after failg to w the ernment's permissn to June, the French sportg goods retailer Dethlon beme the target of Turkish media boytt mpaign, after sayg stood solidary wh the LGBT April, Erdogan rallied to the fence of a top relig affairs official who lked homosexualy to the spread of diseas, amid the ronavis panmic. [[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". 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.
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. 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.
MAN ARRTED TURKEY AND LOCKED UP FOR 20 DAYS 'BEE HE LOOKED GAY AND WAS WEARG A CROP TOP'
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.
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. As wh most plac the world, gay upl or sgle gay travelers hopg to meet people should not n to any problems if stayg ternatnal, upsle hotels. Otherwise, Istanbul offers a range of queer-iendly hotels and hostels, maly the areas mentned above – the gay quarter of Taksim, or Beyoğlu.