Our research for a flight to Sri Lanka that wouldn’t drown most of our monthly budget gave us Istanbul as the perfect place to fly from.
Istanbul.
Yes, we’ve followed the news recently, and especially the controls on internet censorship which the Turkish government is implementing worried us a little. Is nudism in Turkey even allowed? Will we be able to be nude outside of our hotel room?
What if they know about Naked Wanderings?
What if they know that WE are Naked Wanderings?
Istanbul.
Yes, we’ve followed the news recently, and especially the controls on internet censorship which the Turkish government is implementing worried us a little. Is nudism in Turkey even allowed? Will we be able to be nude outside of our hotel room?
What if they know about Naked Wanderings?
What if they know that WE are Naked Wanderings?
Not being allowed into the country was a risk we didn’t care so much about, being picked from the street, questioned, and possibly put in jail was a much bigger worry.
But badasses as we are we decided to give it a try. The flight was really a bargain and let’s face it, as long as we stick to the rules we still have the right to be nudists. Or nudist bloggers. Right?
But badasses as we are we decided to give it a try. The flight was really a bargain and let’s face it, as long as we stick to the rules we still have the right to be nudists. Or nudist bloggers. Right?
The day before we were entering Turkey we noticed that our story got covered by a Turkish news site… Come on, what are the odds? So we have to admit that we were not 100% confident when we crossed the border and that we were quite relieved when nobody seemed to recognize us and the stamp was put in our passports.
We were in!
And while we were there anyway, we could as well try if we couldn’t get some nudie time…
We were in!
And while we were there anyway, we could as well try if we couldn’t get some nudie time…
Naturism in Turkey
We probably don’t have to tell you that the options for naturists in Turkey are more or less zero. Not only is it a Muslim country, but the current government also has a strong policy against public nudity, especially mixed gender.
This hasn’t always been the case, years ago when Western tourism started to get a foot on the ground in Turkey, the government had to be quite liberal about the prescriptions regarding clothing and especially bathing suits. They had to compete with Spain and the south of France, where topless sunbathing was a pretty normal thing to do those days, so they looked the other way when a woman decided to lose her top at the swimming pool of the resort and the staff was briefed (or threatened) not to stare, not to mention it and certainly not to touch.
This hasn’t always been the case, years ago when Western tourism started to get a foot on the ground in Turkey, the government had to be quite liberal about the prescriptions regarding clothing and especially bathing suits. They had to compete with Spain and the south of France, where topless sunbathing was a pretty normal thing to do those days, so they looked the other way when a woman decided to lose her top at the swimming pool of the resort and the staff was briefed (or threatened) not to stare, not to mention it and certainly not to touch.
It didn’t take long before nudists also found their way to the country and soon Patara beach and Butterfly Valley got recognized as unofficial nude beaches. And as it always goes, the local community started to give it a try themselves and more and more Turks embraced nudism.
This was not much appreciated by the government.
The opening of the first naturist resort in Turkey in 2010 was for them the perfect moment to make a stand. Within a week the place was closed down and the government announced that they would not embrace naturism. Ever.
Today, even though Turkey has become a very western country, public nudity is still a big no-no.
This was not much appreciated by the government.
The opening of the first naturist resort in Turkey in 2010 was for them the perfect moment to make a stand. Within a week the place was closed down and the government announced that they would not embrace naturism. Ever.
Today, even though Turkey has become a very western country, public nudity is still a big no-no.
Other great activities in Turkey:
⭐ Cappadocia: Hot Air Balloon Flight
⭐ Istanbul: Dervishes Performance
⭐ Antalya City Tour and Duden Waterfalls
⭐ Istanbul: Dervishes Performance
⭐ Antalya City Tour and Duden Waterfalls
The baths
This decision might seem a bit surprising, given the fact that Turkey has a long history on social nudity (although gender-separated) in their hammams.
For those not familiar with the term, a hammam is a bathhouse, where people go to get washed. They exist from the days when there was no water supply to every house, so when your partner, your children, and your dog ran away from the smell of your feet, you went to the bathhouse.
For those not familiar with the term, a hammam is a bathhouse, where people go to get washed. They exist from the days when there was no water supply to every house, so when your partner, your children, and your dog ran away from the smell of your feet, you went to the bathhouse.
For the poor, this was not much more than a cellar with a pipe leaking water, but for the more fortunate Turks, there were beautifully decorated places where one could spend the afternoon getting soaked, getting relaxed, and being washed (yes, if even you couldn’t stand the smell of your feet anymore, there was a guy who could wash them for you).
These bathhouses still exist and are on top of the to-do list of many tourists, not only will you be in a most beautiful environment, you have all kinds of wash and massage options. You’ll leave as a new, much cleaner person.
These bathhouses still exist and are on top of the to-do list of many tourists, not only will you be in a most beautiful environment, you have all kinds of wash and massage options. You’ll leave as a new, much cleaner person.
➡️ Click Here for the best hotel deals in Istanbul
➡️ Click Here for the best Airbnb rentals in Istanbul
Istanbul and many other cities around Turkey have bathhouses that almost exclusively cater to tourists. Before you enter, you’re given a towel to wrap around your waist so you won’t be completely naked, most visitors even shower with this towel, but few people will frown if you decide to leave it off.
This is the only legal way to get socially naked in Turkey.
This is the only legal way to get socially naked in Turkey.
The not so legal way
But of course, Turkey is a big country and has a lot of nearly populated areas, so sometimes you just can’t resist. At least we couldn’t. Our hike through the red and rose valleys in Cappadocia was one of those occasions. Being in such a magnificent landscape with clearly nobody around was enough reason to bare it all. Well, at least for a short period because we were scared as hell of getting caught, but it was an amazing experience anyway.
➡️ Click Here for the best hotel deals at the Turkish Riviera
➡️ Click Here for the best Airbnb rentals at the Turkish Riviera
Turkey also has a very long coastline, which we couldn’t explore much due to a lack of time but which must certainly have some desolated beaches where pants could be dropped.
Just keep in mind that the government is very strict about this and that you can be put in jail. Other than that, especially in rural areas, the people might not appreciate your naked asses so please be careful if you decide to bare it all in Turkey!
Just keep in mind that the government is very strict about this and that you can be put in jail. Other than that, especially in rural areas, the people might not appreciate your naked asses so please be careful if you decide to bare it all in Turkey!
➡️ Click Here for the best hotel deals in Cappadocia
➡️ Click Here for the best Airbnb rentals in Cappadocia
All in all, Turkey is an amazingly beautiful country which has lots to offer for tourists and which could offer much for nudists as well, if only it was allowed.
Think about naked hikes in Cappadocia, skinny-dips in the mineral lakes of Pamukkale, or naturist areas on Turkey’s magnificent beaches.
At the moment, it’s still a dream, let’s hope it becomes reality one day!
Think about naked hikes in Cappadocia, skinny-dips in the mineral lakes of Pamukkale, or naturist areas on Turkey’s magnificent beaches.
At the moment, it’s still a dream, let’s hope it becomes reality one day!
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Hi Nick and Lins. Love your blogs. You have to be a little careful about calling Turkey “a Muslim country”. It’s officially a secular republic with no state religion. Of course 82% of residents are Muslim. But wars were waged over secularism, and it’s always under threat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism_in_Turkey
Thanks for this addition Rob!
Indeed, Turkey has no state religion, we should’ve mentioned that. We meant this in the same way as we would say that Belgium is a Christian country, just based on the religion of the majority.
Hello Nick&Lins
As you indicated it could sunbathe nude beach in no particular image in Turkey. However, there is a lot of informal space. One of these is the patara beach, like you wrote in your blog. Patara beach is 18km long and protected area with wide beach. There is no permission to stay in this area. for this reason it is still suitable for nudism. there are areas where you can easily sunbathe after you have moved away a bit.
Another area is the pool of the hotel which is connected to the chain of sentido hotel which serves in all inclusive concept in Fethiye.
Around İzmir, beyond the fountain altinkum public beach, there is a region known as the naked beach. it is possible to meet nudists here in summer.
Another area is the golden beach in the Karpaz area of North Cyprus. Altınkumsal has the same patara as the caretta caretta spawning ground, there is no permission to settle. The area around the large sand dune at the tip is preferred by nudists.
I have personally experienced that all the regions I mentioned speak easily to the nudist sea.
The image you have about Turkey seems to be incorrect at best. It’s true that you won’t see any “topless” sunbathers on beaches anymore, but I would say it’s a global case and not spesific to Turkey. As of the consequences of displaying nudity in public, jail is not in the list. In the worst scenario you may get deported (as happened to members of PETA).
As long as you don’t ditsurb anyone, nudism can be enjoyed in Turkey (as we do).
Hi, as in so many cases, what we write is purely our experience. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this as well, no doubt that this will help our readers.
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Hello,
What kind of activities do you have exactly? Do you hang out in a group or with friends? I would like to join you. I’ve been collecting information about nudism for a long time. It has reached a certain point in the world and it will become more liberal in our country in the coming years.
At the beginning of this year, we watched a one-man naked walk on a lively street in Ankara 🙂 and there was no intervention by the society or official authorities. 🙂 This ceremony was written on Twitter in days.
I would like to meet you..
Bir türkiye vatandaşıyım , evet buradaki yerel halkın hoş karşılamayacağı bir durum bu , biz istanbulda yaşıyoruz ve bize en yakın bölge orman ve deniz ile iç içe olan saroz körfezin de çam ormanları içerisinden ulaştığımız ıssız koylarda kampımızı yapıyoruz. Kısmen ulaşım zorluğundan seyrek insan uğruyor fakat kontrollü bir şekil de bu durumu gerçekleştirebiliyoruz. Fransa da ise özgürce deneyimleyebilmek ise daha güzel olmasına karşın türkiyenin ege denizi koylarının da doğal güzellikleri çok fazla
Emre merhaba,
Ben de uzun zamandır bilgi topluyorum. Şimdilik bireysel olarak bir kaç yerde deneyimleme fırsatım oldu. Size katılmak isterim.
Verdiğin bilgi için teşekkür ederim..
Telegram kullanıyormusun ? Kullanıcı adını yazabilirmisin ?
@Ossoerd
Emre merhaba,
Telegram istemiştin. Bana ulaşabilirmisin…
@Ossoerd
Türkiye vatandaşı değilim, ama birkaç ay burada oturuyorum. Siz en bir giyimsiz dinleniler misiniz? Çok ilginç, kaç tane onları var burada?
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