TURKEY, clothing

Personally, I would not wear shirts in Turkey. Turkey has many areas that are islamic where even men should not wear short....much less a woman...................I would suggest a woman wear long sleeve blouses and long pants that will cover the ankles.................just depends on where you are.

correction: shorts

If you are travelling to the touristed areas/cities in Turkey (esp. the resorts along the coast), you can wear whatever you want. Shorts for both sexes are common. If you are going to be in the interior or the eastern end of the country, you probably would feel more comforable in modest attire. Istanbul is like any other large city, you see all kinds of clothing but perhaps long pants would be more appropriate. In mosques the same clothing you would wear in a church would be sensible plus a headscarf.

you would be fine in capris too....

I took RS Turkey Tour in May and June of this year and numerous men in our tour group wore shorts when it got hot (I did). I did not see anyone sneering or laughing at us as many of the local men (the younger ones anyway) were wearing them. All but one of the women on our tour wore scarves over their heads when we entered masques (sp?).

Be sure to get RS Istanbul Guide book if you do not already have it. It pretty much covers the greater Istanbul area and a good supplement is the Lonely Planet Turkey guide book. I used both books in Turkey this year.

You should be fine if you are in the western half of the country. Just be warned that there are some mosques that will make you cover up your shorts. I saw a man in front of me wearing conservative walking shorts who had to take a long shawl and wrap it around him like it was a skirt to cover his knees.'

just returned last week from turkey. spent about 2 1/2 weeks there. cappadocia, istanbul, ephesus, pamukkale, fethiye. saw shorts everywhere we went. i am not saying everyone was in shorts, but everywhere we went, there were people in shorts. of course be respectful of culture and where you are, but shorts seemed perfectly fine. in mosques - may need to take some 'corrective action' though!!! at least for women....bare legs and arms not acceptable and should wear head scarf. at the blue mosque, i was wearing a skirt that came to my knees and the attendant handed me a big swatch of cloth that i had to wrap around me that fell to about an inch above my ankle. imagine same thing may happen if you are shorts (even longer ones). besides being in mosques....i typically wore capris, tanks when hiking around cappadocia, long or short sleeve shirts depending on the day's weather and skirts that were approx knee length. wore Birks almost every day and a nice pair of dress sandals every night. was sure to always have a scarf with me everywhere though as never knew when you may stumble across a beautiful mosque and need the head cover!

Just an FYI - I was going through my photos of Istanbul from a couple of years ago, and came across this photos I took of a sign outside the Blue Mosque that gives a dress code for men and women. You can find it at my flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mardee/506747144/in/set-72157600234612258/

Just got back from Turkey 2 days ago - in the 80's in Istanbul for the first part of trip. In Istanbul, as a tourist it is already obvious you are in the minority. It depends on how much you want to call attention to yourself. We took local transportion (bus and tram) and I had lots of opportunities to see what folks wear from waist down - if you're lucky enough to get a seat. I cannot recall seeing any bare Turkish legs. Turks are too tolerant to (obviously) laugh or sneer. But I wouldn't wear shorts in Istanbul. However, once you leave the city (e.g. Ephesus, Cappadocia), you will find yourself among other tourists. Dress then becomes more varied. It won't look unusual to see shorts. But even there, the locals stay covered up. Have fun.

jean or adidas shirts are universal in europe. shorts are for visitors but ok. you don't want them too short visiting mosques but people there are generally pretty good with it. for women just no short skirt or expose shoulders (they give you things to cover in mosque though). you can't blend in as a local because people in the US don't wear dark colored jackets as much, and your shoes tell the difference.

To all of you who were kind enough to reply to our dress in Turkey question, many thanks. Some of your messages didn't get to us until our return, but in any case, we had a great trip! Lots of Western dress (shorts, skirts, etc.) everywhere; shawls, burkas, long sleeves and long pants mostly only where required, at holy sites.

Thanks again,

Marv & and Jan

American tourist in shorts, is that a picture or what? You should probably consider light weight long pants to try and not stand out as an American tourist and don't forget to leave the baseball cap at home. Enjoy