A BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT TURKEY AND IT'S GAY
LIFE
UNDERSTANDING GAY CULTURE OF
TURKEY WITH WORDS:
For the gay people who have not
visited Turkey before, the first step should be getting familiar with the gay
culture. The gay culture of Turkey is fairly different than the gay culture of
the western countries, as is the case with the general Turkish culture. Turkey,
being situated at the intersection of Europe and Asia geographically, was effected
both by the western and oriental cultures. Turkey is the only Muslim country
where homosexuality is not illegal. This makes Turkish gay life unique in the
world. This difference might be good or bad depending on your expectations, but
one thing is for sure: It is very vivacious and interesting.
Note that we avoid to cause another misunderstanding with above explanation,
because in the west there is already a very big misunderstanding about Turkish
culture. Surprisingly, some people in the west still think of Turkey as a very
typical and traditional Middle-Eastern country and some of them even think
Turkey is just like other Arabic countries and the religion is dominating everything. In
reality, Turkey has got a special culture of her own, much closer to the Western
culture than most other Middle Eastern countries, except her incorrigible economy
maybe.
To understand the gay life in Turkey, let's analyze two Turkish words:
"ibne" and "oglan". Actually, both words literally mean "boy" although they are
now being used as expression of
insult. "Ibne" is originally exported from Arabic and it is being used with a meaning very close to "faggot" in today's Turkish. Although "oglan" means exactly "boy" in formal Turkish, it is often being used to mean "gay" in
slang language. Their present meanings' got a
historical background:
As we all know,
a boy is not a man, not hairy, without beard, with a voice more like a woman,
he's got a softer skin etc....As you can easily notice, these are all descriptions of a woman. Especially
at times when religion was stronger, a boy could probably be the
substitution of a woman. This might be a key to understand the remains of the
history in modern Turkish gay culture. Today, the dominating gay-life style for the
gay people living in Turkey is between two groups; the "active" ones who
would NOT mostly accept
to be called "gay" and who are mostly bisexuals, and the "passive"
ones who
pretend to be women in bed, and who act and sometimes
dress themselves up more effeminately. So the first question after meeting a gay-related
person might very possibly be "Are you passive or active (bottom or top) ?"
Spreading use of the English word "gay" also is an
indication of changing gay culture in recent years. Other people
are also getting more conscious about gay people and accepting their different
sexual identity more. But still there's a long way to go, and maybe it's questionable which life style is better.
Maybe, these
different cultures might be considered as an advantage for gay people in Turkey
in a way, since they have at least the two alternatives to choose as their life
styles.
Knocking
at Europe's door yet on the threshold of Asia, Turkey is truly a land of
contrasts. Here you can scale the icy heights of remote Mount Ararat in search
of Noah's Ark, cross the historic Euphrates and Tigris rivers, follow in the
footsteps of St Paul or simply relax on the golden Mediterranean sands of Patara
beach. Vibrant Istanbul, straddling the blue waters of the Bosphorus separating
Europe from Asia, beckons with its skyline pierced by countless minarets,
chaotic bazaars and a history redolent with harem intrigue and despotic Sultans.
In Turkey, you can also cruise along more than a thousand kilometres of
Mediterranean coastline, past secluded coves, rocky headlands and pretty fishing
villages, or explore a hinterland rich in the wonderfully preserved remains of
Graeco-Roman cities such as Ephesus. For the adventurous, the austere beauty of
the Anatolian plateau, the surreal rock-chimney landscape of Cappadocia and the
atmospheric ruins of the enigmatic Hittites await discovery. Here, too, is the
unique experience of watching the dervishes whirl in pious Konya.
With a code of hospitality nurtured by their Islamic beliefs yet with a
remarkable tolerance of other customs, the Turks offer a warm welcome wherever
you travel - be it sipping sweet black tea or thick coffee with friendly
villagers or sharing a bottle of raki over mezes (hors d'oeuvres) with
cosmopolitan Istanbul 'city slickers'.
Travel - International
AIR:
Turkey's national airline is Turkish Airlines (THY).
Approximate flight times: From Frankfurt/M to Istanbul is 2 hours 45 minutes,
from London is 3 hours 30 minutes and from New York is 11 hours.
International airports:
Ankara
(ESB) (Esenboga)
is 35km (22 miles) northeast of the
city. THY buses go from the city 90 minutes before domestic flights and 135
minutes before international flights. There is a taxi service available into the
city. Airport facilities include incoming and outgoing duty-free shops; bank/bureau
de change; restaurant and bar.
Istanbul
(IST) (Ataturk,
formerly Yesilkoy)
is 24km (15 miles) west of the city (travel time - 30-50 minutes). A coach (THY
bus) goes every 15 minutes to the THY terminal. There are taxi services to the
city. Airport facilities include incoming and outgoing 24-hour duty-free shop;
bank/bureau de change; restaurant; bar and car hire (Avis, Budget, Hertz and
Europcar). Sabiha Gokcen
(SAW) is 40km (25 miles)
from the city, on the Asian side. It is Turkey's newest international airport,
and opened on January 8 2001. There are shuttle bus services to the city (journey
time - 30-45 minutes) and to Atatürk International Airport (journey time - 60-70
minutes). Taxis are available 24 hours a day. Facilities include duty-free shops,
bank, cash dispensers, business centre and restaurants/cafés.
Izmir
(IZM) (Adnan Menderes).
A THY bus leaves from the city 75 minutes before departure. Airport facilities
include bank/bureau de change; restaurant and bar.
There are other international airports at
Gaziantep,
Adana, Trabzon,
Dalaman and Antalya.
SEA:
Major ports are Istanbul,
Izmir, Marmaris, Mersin, Antalya and Bandirma.
Turkish Maritime Lines (TML), the national shipping organisation, and a number
of cruise lines run services to Turkey, including: Golden Sun Cruises, Epirotiki,
Linblad Expeditions, Costa, CTC, Norwegian, 'K' Lines and Sun Line. Several
ferry routes are available: To/from Italy: Ferries operate between Venice-Izmir,
Venice-Antalya/Marmaris, Venice-Istanbul via Pireaus and Brindisi-Cesme. To/from
Cyprus: Three routes exist on which sea buses, together with car and passenger
ferries, operate: Alanya-Girne and Tasucu-Girne and Gazimagosa-Mersin. To/from
Greece: There are privately operated ferry lines between Turkey and the Greek
islands: Lesbos (Midilli)-Ayvalik, Chios (Sakiz)-Cesme, Samos (Sisam)-Kusadasi,
Cos (Istanköy)-Bodrum, Rhodes (Rodos)-Marmaris, Sömbeki (Symi)-Datça.
Note: All ships, including private yachts, arriving in Turkish waters must go to
one of the following ports of entry: Canakkale, Bandirma, Istanbul, Akcay,
Ayvalik, Dikili, Izmir, Cesme, Kusadasi, Güllük, Bodrum, Datca, Marmaris,
Fethiye, Kas, Finike, Kemer, Antalya, Alanya, Anamur, Söke, Tasucu (Silifke),
Mersin, Iskenderun, Samsun, Trabzon, Botas (Adana), Didim, Derince, Tekirdag,
Giresun, Rize, Sinop, Ordu, Zonguldak or Hopa (Artvin).
RAIL:
There are connections from London (Liverpool Street) via Hook of Holland and
Cologne to Istanbul on the Istanbul Express, which also carries cars from
several other European cities. There is a weekly sleeper from Moscow. InterRail
tickets are available in the European part of Turkey as far as Istanbul. Other
international rail routes go to Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and
Georgia. For more information contact Turkish Railways (TCDD) in Istanbul (tel:
(212) 527 00 50/51; reservations: (212) 520 65 75).
ROAD:
There are roads from the CIS, Greece, Bulgaria and Iran. Drivers may either
choose the northern route of Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, and
then Bulgaria, or the southern route through Belgium, Austria and Italy with a
car-ferry connection to Turkey. Coach: There are regular services between Turkey
and Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland as well as Jordan, Iran, Saudi
Arabia and Syria.
Click on the
name of the city for the guide of gay places
Knocking
at Europe's door yet on the threshold of Asia, Turkey is truly a land of
contrasts. Here you can scale the icy heights of remote Mount Ararat in search
of Noah's Ark, cross the historic Euphrates and Tigris rivers, follow in the
footsteps of St Paul or simply relax on the golden Mediterranean sands of Patara
beach. Vibrant Istanbul, straddling the blue waters of the Bosphorus separating
Europe from Asia, beckons with its skyline pierced by countless minarets,
chaotic bazaars and a history redolent with harem intrigue and despotic Sultans.