Hello! Last Fall my husband and I had the most incredible time on the RS "Best of Turkey" tour. It was the trip of a lifetime! We were recommending it to friends who were interested in the tour, but they were a little concerned that they might run into homophobia in Turkey as a gay couple. Our first reaction was that it would not be an issue. But after more thought, I am realizing that I may not have been sensitive enough to that issue to give an accurate response. I want to pose that question to this group and see what people think. Would a gay couple run into problems traveling around Turkey on the RS tour, or otherwise? Thanks in advance for your advice and observations.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7973 posts
Personally, I do not view the Erdogan government as being warm and fuzzy to diversity and freedom, plus, at it's core, Turkey is an Islamic country, though highly secular.
I think the general advice given would be to refrain from PDA and play it a little conservative. If they are fine with that, then go. Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, probably more accepted in Istanbul than elsewhere, but Turkey ranks pretty low in acceptance. I do not think they would fear violence, maybe verbal criticism or other discrimination.
Posted by
Southeastern US
2588 posts
Posted by
Western Canada
3442 posts
I have a dear friend who is gay, Turkish and lives there.
I’ve visited and been out and about with gay male friends there.
I’ve had three vacations there.
They just keep it quiet, no PDA’s, stay below the radar.
Keep your business to yourself and don’t be flamboyant at all.
They will love it, so encourage them to visit Turkey!
Posted by
Westland, MI
788 posts
What are the ages of the gay couple who are concerned about Turkey? If they are older like me and my husband they have already experienced a repressive society (middle class life in Detroit especially in the 1950's - 1970's) and have the necessary skills to avoid triggering others. We know many younger couples who are unable or otherwise unwilling to suppress their personalities. While my husband and I have never been into PDA and have no behaviors that identify us in any way we still do not want to spend any time monitoring ourselves. We're seniors and refuse to spend valuable time in those situations even if we would naturally pass. It's just not fun knowing that we really aren't in an accepting environment. I'm sure that we could easily and safely maneuver in their society but I suspect it would be rather joyless.
There's a bigger component for us as a couple. We don't want to spend our money in repressive societies. We realize that we are but a tiny drop in a huge bucket but it's voting with our dollars and we are happier spending our time and money in more socially tolerant countries. It's up to us to reward those who deserve our nest eggs.
Posted by
İstanbul
4 posts
Merhaba (Hello), I say this as someone living in Istanbul. I guarantee that they will not experience any problems during their trip. The most that will happen is that in some areas, elderly people will look at them with unpleasant eyes, but this is still the case in many countries.
I hope they enjoy their trip.
Posted by
OP
Seattle area
61 posts
Thanks to all who replied! It is always helpful to hear travelers' perspectives. I will share this with our friends. Thanks, again!
Posted by
2 posts
Hi all,
We are the couple Deborah was referring to and I want to thank her for following up on our conversation with this inquiry. As to Silas's question, we are an older couple in our very late 60s and not much for PDAs (maybe a generational thing?) After 50 years of friendship, we are finally tying the knot next year and plan to take Rick's 21-day European tour for our honeymoon.
Our interest in Turkey is that my partner's mother took a tour there (she was an avid traveler late in her life) and said it was her favorite place that she had visited. So of course we want to see for ourselves.
I appreciate your thoughtful responses and hope to travel there in the future.
Stephen