Istanbul is a fabulously romantic city but with a seamy underside, as well as candle lit dinners there are ‘rough trade’ clubs and plenty of male, female and transgender prostitution. Despite the majority conservative opinion of the rest of the country Istanbul stands as a beacon for freedom of expression and sexuality and it is here that gay and lesbian Turkey is best able to express itself. The February issue of international gay magazine Gus Deluxe followed in the footsteps of renowned publication, Wallpaper, and voted Istanbul it’s city of the year. The accolade was celebrated with a gay party night at Istanbul’s Olympia club. Gus has been to Turkey before and the opinion of its editors is that this is a country ready for European inclusion. Whilst it is true that Istanbul is a trailblazing city in all matters the rest of the country is not so liberal in its treatment or attitudes towards same-sex relationships.

In Adana the local council banned men kissing each other in public deeming it ‘unsanitary’ in the high temperatures of mid summer – although women kissing each other and mixed sex kissing was still acceptable. Whilst not a measure that was specifically aimed at homosexual men, straight Turkish men generally brush cheeks as they greet each other, the assumption that male same sex contact is dirty betrays homophobic undercurrents. On other

Ocasions prejudices have been stated far more clearly, in the past the Turkish Supreme Court of Justice has ruled in custody cases that the moral development of a child raised by a lesbian mother is at risk as a lesbian is; ‘a woman who has a (sexual) habit in the degree of sickness’.

Overt homophobia is rare though but overt demonstrations of homosexual behaviour are eqully rare. Most gays and lesbians are not ‘out’ and most Turks tolerate homosexuality provided they are not forced to confront it. The government seems to take the same ‘hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil’ line. Unlike many other Muslim countries, Turkey has never criminalized nor made homosexuality illegal but there are also no laws to protect gay men and lesbians from discrimination and hostility.

Male homosexuality in Ottoman times was seen as an adjunct to heterosexual behaviour. Much like the Greeks and Romans young boys were the sexual playthings of older men and to engage in sex with them did not make one gay. Whilst the Koran was higly prescriptive about male-female physical relations it says little about same-sex encounters and thus homosexuality was not actively discouraged. There is a whole branch of Ottoman literature called Divan poetry (highly lyrical and with strong Persian influences most of which is love poetry) that is written by men about their ‘boy’ lovers.

Sex between men was not forbidden and Sultans had homosexual affairs, there was even a boy’s palace in Bursa. Turkish baths were famous for the homosexual activity that took place and a book called the Dellakname-i Dilkusa exists in the Ottoman archives chronicles the most famous tellaks, the boy masseuse who worked in the baths. The book is explicit in its descriptions of how the tellaks serve their customers, their prices, how many times they can make a client orgasm  and rates their beauty. As European influence at the Ottoman court increased during the 19th century Christian prejudices against same sex were imbibed and adopted and extreme nationalists deny that this aspect of gay Ottoman culture ever existed. 

In modern Turkey there is huge pressure to deny the existence of one’s gayness. The country’s only gay magazine KaosGL surveyed nearly 400 homosexuals and lesbians in March 2006 and found that 89% of them hid their sexual orientation from family members, 88% from employers and co-workers and 82% from teachers and schoolmates. 63% reluctantly forced themselves into heterosexual relationships and 70% married. Those who were brave enough to come out were, in 66% of cases, asked ‘Are you sure?’, in 75% of cases told they ‘didn’t look gay’ and in 52% of cases  advised to see a psychiatrist. Of those who did visit a psychiatrist 67% had negative experiences where the practices employed by the practitioner forced them to become heterosexual, forced a medical cure on them or misinformed them about the issue of sexual orientation. The reluctance to come out seems well justified as those who were honest about their sexuality in 87% of cases experienced at least one type of social violence including verbal remarks, ignorance, or having contact cut off.

Yet there are brave individuals who are out and proud and they continue to organise the activities that are the core of Turkey’s gay conciousness. In March 2006 the Rainbow Solidarity and Cultural Association for transgender, gays, bisexuals and lesbians was established in Bursa becoming the second only legally registered LGBT organisation in Turkey. In May 2006 Kaos GL held an “International Gathering against Homophobia" in Ankara with events including seminars, workshops and films to raise awareness about homophobia in all walks of life. In June 2006 the 13th annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride events took place in Istanbul and for the first time ever the events took place for longer than a week.

Attempts to shut down the Rainbow Association by the governor of Bursa (under the ‘general morality’ statute) were rejected by the judiciary, the prosecutor ruled that homosexuality was not a disorder and that the words "gay" and "lesbian" were widely used in daily life and scientific research. Gay rights groups hailed the ruling as a  historic landmark being the first time that a prosecutor’s office decided that homosexuality was not immoral. The decision was seen as an important future weapon to be used in the defence of LGBT people facing discrimination. Pink power in Turkey is growing and the path of EU inclusion is likely to make all marginalised groups in Turkey more active and demanding. Perhaps in the not too distant future Turkey may become as liberal as the Ottoman Empire and see sexuality as a choice and not a foregone conclusion.