Shore Dress Code for Istanbul or Black sea itinerary

[cruzangirl]

There are 4 of us going on the Nautica Athens-Istanbul cruise on Jul 2 and we are hearing rumors of a dress code on shore. Is it true that everyone has to wear long pants in Istanbul (or any of the excursions) or that the women must wear long sleeve shirts in these places? I am reading mixed things on this issue...Also, anyone doing this itinerary before us, we'd love shore excursion suggestions and warnings. This is my husbands first cruise and we are young for the cruise set (its for our 40th bdays but we are joining my aunt and uncle in their 60s--VERY young at heart!).

 

Thanks for your input!

Cruzangirl

[jfb128]

When we were on the Black Sea Cruise last year in Istanbul it was very hot. Accordingly even though some told us not to wear shorts we did. When we entered the Blue Mosque they were prepared with wraps or shawls to cover your legs or bare arms. When you leave the Mosque you deposit the wrap and someone asks for a donation. Some gave a dollar or a Euro and some chose not to. We did not have any problems in Topkapi Palace or St. Sophia or in other venues that we visited. Hope this helps.

[brian_uk]

Places of Worship are the only locations that Shorts are not acceptable and as said, wrap arounds are available at the entrances to the Mosques which both men and women can use for a very small donation.......not necessarily hygeinic as I doubt they are regularly washed.....but functional for the 20 minutes required.

 

And not always a pretty sight.......especially when worn by ME.

 

Brian

[raffeer]

Shouldn't the bottom line be how would you dress going to your house of worship?

Beatrice

[cruzangirl]

What I was asking was about the general walking around in Istanbul, or some of the other ports that are mostly muslim. I would never walk into a religious place here or abroad without proper attire. My aunt was just reading that some of the countries/ports require legs and arms be covered just to walk around and sightsee. It didn't sound right to me, so I was checking with you guys as the voices of experience.

[jfb128]

Since the time of Ataturk Istanbul has been more secular. There has been an effort in recent years to go back to more traditional muslim dress but it was not the general norm while we were in Istanbul. As I indicated the temperature was in the mid 90's while we were there and with the exception of the Blue Mosque it appeared to be acceptable to wear western hot weather clothing.

[Winner]

Don't wear shorts; it is disrespectful to the local culture. Maybe I am old fashioned but I wouldn't wear shorts in any large city and especially not in Eastern cities.

[lahore]

I guess it depends on how sensitive you want to be. Know that if you wear shorts you will be viewed as crass, disrespectful and probably also ugly. Sorry, but pleasant words are often not true and true words often not pleasant. How difficult is it to wear cheesecloth or very thin (not see through) cotton pants, and similar top? How much hotter do you think it really makes you? Not very, in fact after quite a long time living in the tropics in Asia I found that long sleeve and pants (in very thin cotton) are much more comfortable, absorbs any sweat, your legs don't stick together as they do in shorts and you are viewed as a respectable person as an added bonus. I know what I prefer, the choice is individual. Yes, I am being judgemental though, I know, but the question was asked.

[jfb128]

Lahore-

 

I hardly think that the Turks thought we were crass or ugly. In fact we checked with our tour guide before wearing our shorts who indicated it was fine. I also just reviewed my pictures from Istanbul and close to a third of the people in the large shots were wearing shorts. The people at the Turkish rug stop didn't tell us we were crass or ugly when we bought their rugs while wearing shorts. We all respected their wishes and donned wraps in the places of worship. As Brian UK indicated maybe they were a bit unsanitary but....

 

Incidentally on our recent Far East cruise we were told not to wear shorts while visiting the King Rama V Teak Mansion in Bangkok. We obliged that request but when we got there the same type wraps were available and many tourists were using them.

[lahore]

Ah well, tour guides say what tourists want to hear. Look at what the locals are wearing would be my advice. They have the sarongs there for tourists who 'don't know how to dress respectfully'. I won't make any further comment on this; I strongly believe - and I have lived in what is notionally 'the east', 'the orient', 'the other'...whatever - that whilst in most of the places mentioned in this thread locals will always be polite to you because you are a tourist to their country; what they are really thinking is a entirely different matter. And also, in some places - and Thailand is a case in point - the locals also wear skimpy clothes and don different garb when visiting places that demand respect.

 

Personally the comments about the 'unsanitary' nature of the sarongs (why unsanitary; because they are in 'Asia' or because they have been worn by lots of sweaty western tourists in shorts) and the fact that people who are sellers wouldn't comment on your clothing frankly made me cringe. Does the fact that someone is selling you something mean that they are going to be honest about what they think about you - in Turkey or in USA? I doubt it.

 

The OP was asking what is appropriate - I gave what I consider to be a quite informed answer (informed in terms of local insight). If you don't like it that's your right, there's really no need to get defensive. What you wear depends on your own personal belief system.

[nparmelee]

First let me say that I'm a jeans or shorts kind of gal...I work from a home office so I have that luxury. For Istanbul, I already know that I will be wearing my lightweight cotton slacks and shirts that cover my shoulders, hair pulled back, probably in a braid, and little or no makeup. Now, in my case, I'm 5' 9" and a redhead, I've travelled a bit and know that the less obvious I am, the less attention and stares I get. Romania 21 years ago was quite an experience and I learned to keep a low profile so that I wouldn't have an entire town come up to me to touch my hair (that can really freak you out when you're 21! ok, it might even freak me out at 42). It's not so much a matter of blending in, it's a matter of not being the primary center of attention, unless you like that kind of thing. So, I've learned that the best way to keep a low proile is to wear neutral colors and be as conservatively dressed as you can be, especially in a place that is conservative in nature. Now for Rome, I'll wear zip off slacks so that when I'm not at a church, I can unzip the pant legs and wear shorts for comfort.

[artichoke]

Hey cruzangirl - We will be on the same cruise. Have been to Greece several times and Istanbul a couple of times. Moderately modest dress will suffice just fine and when you plan to go to the mosques I would suggest bringing your own large scarf (thin silk so easy to carry in a daypack or purse) to cover your head and shoulders rather than using the ones they will provide for you. You will have to leave your shoes outside as well. The churches and monasteries in Greece also expect modest dress and cover. Look forward to seeing you in July (we are going a week early though).

[timbo89]

When we visited Istanbul last year on the Black Sea cruise, we had a friend (he lives, and was born and raised in Istanbul) of our travelling companions pick us up at the ship and take us on a tour (along with his wife and a tour guide) The tour guide wore long khaki pants and a short sleeved shirt, but the local guy and his wife wore shorts and shirts, as did the four of us. They had to cover when they went into the mosques as did we, but I see no problem wearing shorts there. Yes we did look funny with the coverings - but it was oppressively hot, and we were glad we had dressed appropriately for the weather.

 

Incidentally, we had earlier inquired from this friend as to what to wear when we went ashore and he said to wear what was comfortable. As he was local, we took him at his word, and we were fine.

[cruzangirl]

Hey cruzangirl - We will be on the same cruise. Have been to Greece several times and Istanbul a couple of times. Moderately modest dress will suffice just fine and when you plan to go to the mosques I would suggest bringing your own large scarf (thin silk so easy to carry in a daypack or purse) to cover your head and shoulders rather than using the ones they will provide for you. You will have to leave your shoes outside as well. The churches and monasteries in Greece also expect modest dress and cover. Look forward to seeing you in July (we are going a week early though).

 

Hey Artichoke-

 

You are the first we've found on our cruise. Never been to that part of the world, so we are pretty excited. Going a day or two early (depends on work), so love any suggestions on Athens (hotel, guide, etc). Look forward to catching up with you as well.

[artichoke]

Hey cruzangirl-

If you would like more info I would be happy to provide it. We are arriving in Athens on Sunday the 25th and staying 1 night in Athens before we do part of the mainland with Jordan the taxi driver for 4 days and 3 nights to Pilios/Meteora/Delphi. We will be back in Athens on Thursday evening for 3 nights. We don't need big fancy hotels since we only sleep there but like something clean and convenient. In Athens we are staying at the Attalos Hotel which has good reviews and is 99 euros a night with breakfast. It is only 2 short blocks from the Monastiraki metro station which is directly accessible from the new Athens airport by Metro for 6 euros per person. (versus about 35 euros for taxi or 50-70 euros for pre-arranged taxi pickup). Everything is very close to that hotel that you probably want to see and if you like to walk it is a great way to see the old part of the city with a good map. 15 minutes walk to the Acropolis, 5 to the Platka, 15 to Syntagma Square, 5 to the flea market and central market. The metro also goes from the Monastiraki station directly to the port of Piraeus in about 15-20 minutes (much faster than a taxi). It is a little bit of a walk from the station to the ships but not bad, or catch a taxi at the station to drop off at the ship. Costs about $1 for metro to the port. If you have any other questions let me know and I will try to answer them. We love Greece and have been there several times. Look forward to meeting you.