Istanbul?

Chlorine7

Well, thats not exactly feasible when the places you're likely to encounter it are the places you want to see!! I specifically wanted to go and visit two mosques and the Aya Sophia. My friend wanted to visit the bazaar.

I expect pestering for shops and restaurants. Once you say no and carry on walking they generally leave you be. Being followed and asked for photos etc. and trying to convince me something is closed is not fine and fairly intimidating.

I liked Istanbul the city and I'd recommend that people go and see the sights, eat the food take in the culture but it's not a place I'd go back to.

bigadaj

Interesting. I've been to Istanbul a couple of times and was surprised how little hassle there was, compared to say Morocco, Tunisia or certainly Egypt, Cairo is a nightmare.

Only ever had touts outside shops and even then they weren't that persistent.

I think the Turks consider themselves to be relatively European, certainly compared to many Arabs. We had an evening meal a few years ago in sultan Ahmet and a newly married couple a rubbed at an adjacent table, either from the gulf or Saudi. The woman had a full burka and the waiters were surprised and a little disrespectful at what she was wearing.

maman

Chlorine7 wrote: »

I don't like to be pestered walking down every street and followed by men asking to take pictures with me every day. They would also try to convince me certain things weren't open, when they clearly were.

Andypandyboy wrote: »

Glad you enjoyed it, we also enjoyed the sights but hated the pestering. For that reason we would not go back.

That's a shame. I've always found a smile, no thank you and walk on has worked for me.


Selling things/bartering is part of the culture. Maybe because there are fewer tourists it's making them more persistent.


The seems to be huge variation in how Turkish Muslim women choose to dress but the veil is increasingly popular probably because of Erdogan. I was amused to watch a tourist woman in a full burka lifting the veil to feed herself mouthfuls of creamy gateau. Considering the calories in that maybe the coveralls aren't a bad idea (joke):rotfl:.

PompeyPete

Without meaning to be disrespectful, if you're visiting anywhere outside of your normal comfort zone then you have to do your homework properly.

I've said it loads of times...

Failing to Prepare = Failing to Prepare

...and most of the people who moan about their visit to Turkey haven't put much effort in between booking and travelling.

Not only is homework necessary, it also enhances the chances of you having a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching experience

littlereddevil

Never been pestered in Istanbul. I love it there

PompeyPete

littlereddevil wrote: »

Never been pestered in Istanbul. I love it there

Be fair. There's lots of pestering. It's the expectation and how you deal with it that matters.

PPPPP

bigadaj

PompeyPete wrote: »

Without meaning to be disrespectful, if you're visiting anywhere outside of your normal comfort zone then you have to do your homework properly.

I've said it loads of times...

Failing to Prepare = Failing to Prepare

...and most of the people who moan about their visit to Turkey haven't put much effort in between booking and travelling.

Not only is homework necessary, it also enhances the chances of you having a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching experience

It does work both ways.

On a tour of a Bedouin camp in Egypt then the French woman who decided to attend in a bikini and flip flops just showed a lot of disrespect to the local culture.

melanzana

PompeyPete wrote: »

Without meaning to be disrespectful, if you're visiting anywhere outside of your normal comfort zone then you have to do your homework properly.

I've said it loads of times...

Failing to Prepare = Failing to Prepare

...and most of the people who moan about their visit to Turkey haven't put much effort in between booking and travelling.

Not only is homework necessary, it also enhances the chances of you having a thoroughly enjoyable and enriching experience

OK if you are male, but females really do have a difficult time in Muslim countries, at least that's what I have found.

And the hassle really is grating, no matter how much you have "prepared" for it. And I know it's their culture, and we have to adapt... But sometimes I feel if they understood that "we" do not like to be hassled either, it would be good. It works both ways.

I know that I would never go into a restaurant where there is a chugger outside hassling me to go in. Found places with no chuggers and they were "native". Big lingo problems for sure, but sorted when they invited me to the kitchen to choose my food. LOL!

Those are the experiences I love. But it takes some guts to go off piste sometimes too. And I will admit to taking the easy road sometimes too. No one is perfect.

PompeyPete

Although it's a few years old this link is worth a read for females travelling to Istanbul...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g293974-i368-k3922013-Proper_Dress_for_Women-Istanbul.html

I bet not many female visitors read either of these links before visiting...

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/WomenTravelers/index.html

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/details/WomenTravelers/women_wear.html

Obviously reading cautionary stuff doesn't prepare you for the reality you might face. But it gives you a v.good idea so you can prepare yourself. Usually, in my experience, the people who have the most problems are the ones who've done little preparation.

melanzana

@Pompey Pete, Istanbul is cosmopolitan. OK if you were going in the Eastern direction where things are a lot more conservative.

Anyway, on the first link you provided (Tripadvisor), there is a link in one of the replies lots of short dresses, skirts, shorts, bellies on view etc. And they are the natives!

http://istanbulstreetstyle.blogspot.ie/

Hassle for women occurs in more conservative areas, not big cosmopolitan cities like Istanbul. Far more secular there, and in places like Izmir.

Respect is all it takes, and tbh very few women who would be wearing revealing clothing would want to go to Eastern Turkey anyway.

Anyway, I am so glad I did Egypt and Turkey, Morocco and such a good few years ago, because I will not be going again! Awful hassle, and I was dressed very conservatively. Just being a foreigner with loadsa dough is the perception, that plus a condescending attitude to females in general.

Never again.