Need to know if I can wear bermuda shorts, capri pants, and sleeveless blouses in Turkey. I know about the expected attire in mosques.
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Seattle, USA
990 posts
No problem at all throughout Western and central Turkey. Dress as you would for urban Europe, so bermuda shorts and capris are fine, but short-shorts will raise eyebrows as they would in most sophisiticated urban areas. Sleeveless blouses are also quite acceptable. (Obviously mosques, like cathedrals, have their own dress standards, as you noted.)
Konya may be an exception--I tend to dress more conservatively there, as it is probably the most conservative place in central Turkey. Eastern Turkey tends to expect more conservative dress generally--village women still wear the traditional pantaloons and headscarves. So I would avoid sleeveless attire there; cap sleeves or short sleeves would be fine, though. And no one anywhere in Turkey expects visitors to wear headscarves except when visiting mosques.