Atlantis Cruise Ship turned away in Turkey and Egypt

[Luv2play]

I just read that an Atlantis Cruise ship with over 1100 gay mostly from the States has been denied entry first by Turkey and then Egypt. Turkey cited moral reasons for the denial to land whereas Egypt, which was chosen as an alternative destination, gave no reason.

Patti LuPone is on board and has spoken out against the actions of the Turkish authorities.The cruise has now made alternative destinations in Greece and the Balkans.

This is certainly not a good development for acceptance of gays in foreign countries. Gays should individually make choices about whether they want to spend their tourist dollars in these countries that discriminate against against them.

Edited July 9 by Luv2play

[cany10011]

I had no issues when I stayed with my bf at the Istanbul Four Seasons. 

[Luv2play]

1 minute ago, cany10011 said:

I had no issues when I stayed with my bf at the Istanbul Four Seasons. 

How long ago was that? The article said the Erdogan government has recently hardened their attitudes towards gays. 

[BSR]

50 minutes ago, cany10011 said:

I had no issues when I stayed with my bf at the Istanbul Four Seasons. 

I think there is a helluva difference between 2 discreet men (I assume you weren’t wearing just jockstraps or black leather pants with the butt cut out) checking into a hotel room and a 1,900-passenger cruise ship screaming “gay! Gay!! GAY!!!”

I read that the ports that rejected the Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady and its 1,900 LGBT passengers were Kusadasi and Instanbul, Turkey, and Alexandria, Egypt.  @Luv2play, where did you read Hungary?

[Nue2thegame]

24 minutes ago, BSR said:

I think there is a helluva difference between 2 discreet men (I assume you weren’t wearing just jockstraps or black leather pants with the butt cut out) checking into a hotel room and a 1,900-passenger cruise ship screaming “gay! Gay!! GAY!!!”

I read that the ports that rejected the Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady and its 1,900 LGBT passengers were Kusadasi and Instanbul, Turkey, and Alexandria, Egypt.  @Luv2play, where did you read Hungary?

Hungary is land-locked. It’s hard to imagine a ship with 1900 onboard reaching it on the Danube via the Black Sea. 

[Luv2play]

48 minutes ago, BSR said:

I think there is a helluva difference between 2 discreet men (I assume you weren’t wearing just jockstraps or black leather pants with the butt cut out) checking into a hotel room and a 1,900-passenger cruise ship screaming “gay! Gay!! GAY!!!”

I read that the ports that rejected the Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady and its 1,900 LGBT passengers were Kusadasi and Instanbul, Turkey, and Alexandria, Egypt.  @Luv2play, where did you read Hungary?

Sorry. My mistake. It was Turkey I meant, which I put in the headline. Hungary was a brain fart I had. I will correct my text.

[Luv2play]

27 minutes ago, Nue2thegame said:

Hungary is land-locked. It’s hard to imagine a ship with 1900 onboard reaching it on the Danube via the Black Sea. 

There’s my mistake . I was referring to Turkey and have corrected the post. 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

2 hours ago, Luv2play said:

I just read that an Atlantis Cruise ship with over 1100 gay mostly from the States has been denied entry first by Hungary, and then Egypt. Hungary cited moral reasons for the denial to land whereas Egypt, which was chosen as an alternative destination, gave no reason.

I've been on 2 gay charter cruises that have stopped for overnights in both Hungary and Egypt.  We were instructed on both occasions to take down any flags or other decorations from our stateroom windows, to not use the clothing optional decks, and to keep off Grindr and other hookup apps within sight distance (by binoculars) of these countries lest we face arrest. 

2 hours ago, Luv2play said:

This is certainly not a good development for acceptance of gays in foreign countries. Gays should individually make choices about whether they want to spend their tourist dollars in these countries that discriminate against against them.

I am grateful to have had the good fortune to travel to other countries to experience their history and culture.  But, I am also grateful that we finally got smart to tighten restrictions on visitors who wish us harm.  Let's remember this as Minnesota slowly turns into Turkey or Egypt.

 

Edited July 9 by Vegas_Millennial

[Cooper]

Administrator’s Reminder

This is a very relevant subject. Please stay on topic and stop trying to hijack  it with unrelated cartoons. All have been deleted. 

[nomad]

15 hours ago, Luv2play said:

How long ago was that? The article said the Erdogan government has recently hardened their attitudes towards gays. 

Turkey has become more conservative over the last 20 years.  I have friends from Istanbul that feel this is over simplified in the foreign press.  If you are there waving around a pride flat, you're inviting to be harassed verbally and probably physically if they feel you are disrespectful of their traditions and Muslim beliefs.  If you're going about your own business in a respectful manner, you probably won't even be noticed.  Even though it is a Muslim country, large cities like Istanbul have a good size gay community.  Some incredibly handsome guys there.  One of the legacies of thousands of years of invading forces to control the gateway to Asia and Africa along with the movement of goods (including people).  

Edited Friday at 11:55 AM by nomad

[+ nycman]

[Becket]

There was an article about this in the Daily Mail. The passengers seemed shocked, SHOCKED, that some Muslim countries would not let the ship doc.

[wsc]

Spurred by curiosity, I checked the Rentmen listings for Istanbul, and they are extensive - 300+. And with some exceptionally handsome and muscular morsels from which to choose. Not sure how comfortable I would be in hiring as some of the men would fit a dicktionary definition of entrapment. On the other hand, there are several I wouldn't mind sharing a cell with. But then images from Midnight Express creep in and I think, Naw, I don't think so.

But if the government is as homophobic as some would say, I don't see how such an overt display of ads for man-to-man meetups would escape the authority's notice and up-close scrutiny. As theologians might declare, 'tis a mystery!

By contrast, the Moscow listings are understandably sparser. Must take lots of courage, cups of dumbness, or gallons of desperation to openly advertise in such an oppressive environment.

[BSR]

7 hours ago, Becket said:

There was an article about this in the Daily Mail. The passengers seemed shocked, SHOCKED, that some Muslim countries would not let the ship doc.

Just to be clear, I am not laughing because Muslim countries refused to allow a gay cruise ship to dock — that’s shameful.  But that the passengers were shocked — SHOCKED! — well, it’s laugh or cry that people are so naive.

[nomad]

3 hours ago, BSR said:

Just to be clear, I am not laughing because Muslim countries refused to allow a gay cruise ship to dock — that’s shameful.  But that the passengers were shocked — SHOCKED! — well, it’s laugh or cry that people are so naive.

It is not surprising.  Many of us live in bubbles and are not exposed to other cultures with any regularity.  There is a reason why Hawaii is the top destination for vacation.  We like our bubbles.  

[d.anders]

At least Patti has someplace friendly to go now that other places have cancelled her.

[marylander1940]

5 hours ago, BSR said:

Just to be clear, I am not laughing because Muslim countries refused to allow a gay cruise ship to dock — that’s shameful.  But that the passengers were shocked — SHOCKED! — well, it’s laugh or cry that people are so naive.

Agreed!

13 hours ago, Becket said:

There was an article about this in the Daily Mail. The passengers seemed shocked, SHOCKED, that some Muslim countries would not let the ship doc.

Some folks just can't help being useful idiots "полезные идиоты" (po-LEZ-niye i-dee-O-ti) 

They're fools out of ignorance, denial of reality, stubbornness, wishful thinking about others being more accepting than they truly are, etc.