Now reading Gay in Turkey: What to Expect. By Contributor. By Danielle Conlon. By Noran Morsi. By Harriet Corns. By Shamsa Derrick. I push myself through a crowd to grab my first drink with some friends. We are at Ritim , a rooftop club in Istanbul just a few steps from Taksim Square.
It was my first night in Turkey and everyone around me had always instilled in my head that this was a very religiously conservative country. As I shove through the crowd once more, an extremely handsome guy stops right in front of me.
We look at each other and realize instantly the attraction between us. We started dancing together, which later turned into kissing, which later resulted in everyone around us cheering us on. Wait, what? Instead of questioning my surroundings, I just decided to dance to the music and enjoy the rest of my night surrounded by the cool air of the Bosphorus as well as the arms of this dashingly attractive Turk.
He invites me to meet him in Asia for a cup of tea. For those of you not familiar with Istanbul, the city spans two continents: Europe and Asia. After running up and down the streets of the Asian side of Istanbul for around a half-hour looking for Ayaz, I eventually find him.
Same-sex activity has been legal in Turkey since the days of the Ottoman Empire. However, if you are gay and a bottom wtf? Unfortunately, same-sex marriage and discrimination protections for LGBT people were purposely excluded.
