Gay Moroc: The experience is very different for Morocns and foreigners.

Contents:

• EXPLORE VAST AND HIDN GAY TURKEY
• GAY BARS ANKARA? - ANKARA FOM
• VERY VERY GAY IENDLY HAMAM - DAVUTPASA ISKELE HAMAMI
• HAVG A GAY OLD TIME TURKEY
• ANKARA GAY BARS & CLUBS
• ANKARA GAY MAP
• GAY ISTANBUL
• BISTRO SAVOYANKARAMENUHOTELSBARS & CLUBSGAY MAPTURKEY INXBISTRO SAVOY
• WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE GAY … MOROC?
• ANKARA GAY
• ANKARA GAY SOHBET

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.

GAY BARS ANKARA? - ANKARA FOM

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.

VERY VERY GAY IENDLY HAMAM - DAVUTPASA ISKELE HAMAMI

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.

HAVG A GAY OLD TIME TURKEY

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. 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? 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.

ANKARA GAY BARS & CLUBS

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

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. 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 upl or sgle gay travelers hopg to meet people should not experience any issu if they are booked ternatnal, upsle hotels.

ANKARA GAY MAP

Serviced apartments or Airbnb are also acmodatn optns that will save gay travelers havg to n the gntlet of a 24-hour receptn. 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.

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.

GAY ISTANBUL

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. The ernor of Turkey’s pal, Ankara, has banned all public events relatg to lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) issu, cg fears they uld “provoke hatred and hostily.

Unlike many other Mlim untri, homosexualy is legal Turkey, but activists say members of the LGBT muny are often subjected to wispread hostily and homophobia. Last Wednday, thori Ankara banned a German gay film ftival that had been due to open the next day, cg public safety ncerns. Rpondg to the ban, two gay rights groups Turkey scribed as “illegal, discrimatory and arbrary” a jot statement on Monday.

BISTRO SAVOYANKARAMENUHOTELSBARS & CLUBSGAY MAPTURKEY INXBISTRO SAVOY

Homosexualy has been legal Turkey sce 1923 but the untry has one of the worst rerds of human rights vlatns agast LGBTQ people Europe, and Turkey’s LGBTQ muny has been creasgly vol about vlence agast members of the muny.

Istanbul police ed tear gas and bber pellets on LGBTQ supporters who took to that cy’s streets June fiance of a ban on the Gay Pri Ftival and Para.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE GAY … MOROC?

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.

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.

ANKARA GAY

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. For the most part, gay travelers should feel fortable venturg all over the cy and not let any fear lim their adventur.

Trendy Beyoğlu is also at the foreont of liberal enclav, and gay travelers will feel pletely fortable hangg around there. 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. 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.

ANKARA GAY SOHBET

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.