14 gay-iendly ci that LGBT travellers love - Hostelworld Travel Blog

Contents:

• EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY
• TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS TURKEY
• GAY ISTANBUL ISTANBUL CY GUI
• AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)
• HAVG A GAY OLD TIME TURKEY
• 14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE
• THE BT GAY IENDLY HAMMAM ISTANBUL - ISTANBUL FOM
• GAY ISTANBUL · CY GUI

EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY

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. 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.

TIPS FOR GAY AND LBIAN TRAVELERS TURKEY

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.

GAY ISTANBUL ISTANBUL CY GUI

Otherwise, Istanbul offers a range of queer-iendly hotels and hostels, maly the areas mentned above – the gay quarter of Taksim, or Beyoğlu. 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.

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.

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.

AND THE GAYT CY EUROPE IS... (DISVER OUR TOP 10 WNERS)

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.

HAVG A GAY OLD TIME TURKEY

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. In fact, same-sex sexual activy was legalized the Ottoman Empire 1858 and homosexualy has been legal sce 1923 when morn Turkey was found.

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.

14 GAY-IENDLY CI THAT LGBT TRAVELLERS LOVE

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.

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.

THE BT GAY IENDLY HAMMAM ISTANBUL - ISTANBUL FOM

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.

GAY ISTANBUL · CY GUI

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. 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.

For your five Istanbul gay scene gui, you’ve e to the right bt hotels IstanbulStayg Istanbul n be a real treat, elegant all the right ways wh unmatched hospaly.

Let’s start our Istanbul gay cy gui wh the bt acmodatn the cy has to offer, begng wh The Hoe Hotel Karakoy, a five-star lodgg the up-and-g district of Karaköy on Bankalar Cadsi, the cy’s sleek fancial district, close proximy to bohemian Beyoğlu and historic Sultanahmet.