Gay cruising places are not as busy as they used to be
since internet and cell phones became widespread;
especially after gay mobile applications were launched.
(see below). As in other big cities, gay cruising areas; especially
cruising parks are where gay people should be more
careful and selective with the people they run into.
Don't to carry your valuable things and a lot of money on you
when you go to cruising places, just in case.
Please
read this page for general safety warnings.
Taksim
Park
Also called Taksim Gezi Park, it is the well-known park
near Taksim Square. The part of the park closer to the
sea-side is more "cruisy" especially in the evenings. It
is busier on Sundays during the day and on Saturday
evenings. Actually, it is not very much recommended to foreign
visitors and new-comers for safety reasons.
Taksim Square
People sitting on the fences around the monument at the
very center of the square may be interested in meeting
gay people, but remember it is also a gathering place
for some pick pockets as well as female, transvestite
and rent-boys.
Muratpasa Park, Aksaray
Muratpasa Park is a cruising
and gathering spot for bears and other gay men. Unlike
other cruising parks this is a busy park with straight
people normally with many cafe houses in the vicinity,
but mostly straight acting, bear gay man are also always
around, usually sitting on benches around the pool.
Action is not possible naturally.
Istiklal Caddesi
Some 2 kilometers long pedestrian street starting from
Taksim Square, winding slightly to the left in
Galatasaray district and ending in Tunel (the quarter
named after the entrance of mini historical metro). This
street is always busy with people which also connects
Taksim square to the most of the gay venues located on
back-streets around it, and you can bump into many gay,
bi and bi-curious people along the way. Of course, it is not a
place to go for cruising on purpose. While you walk
along the Istiklal, you can use eye-contact if you keep
your "gaydars" open. But make sure the person you meet is
not involved in scam-bar business. If someone is too
direct and friendly all of a sudden, and this
conversation seems to be ending in visiting a bar or
club he recommends, get rid of him immediately.
Sultanahmet Park
Sultanahmet, also known as the old city by tourists is
the most famous tourism district of Istanbul, housing
the world-wide historical remnants such as Hagia Sophia,
Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii).
The parks in Sultanahmet are comparatively safer, but
there is no such a very visible gay scene. The small
park behind the Sultanahmet tramcar station and the
corner of the park behind the light show seats of Blue
mosque (the upper part of
Arasta Bazaar's entrance) can
be more suitable for cruising in the evenings. There is
no cruising atmosphere at day time in any of the parks
in Sultanahmet.
Sarayburnu
Sarayburnu (Seraglio Point) is coastal area behind
Topkapi Palace with respect to Sultanahmet. It is a
waterfront by the coastal road, covered with big rocks
and concrete waterfront. There is no visible gay scene
here also. There are single people or groups of guys
drinking and young ghetto boys swimming and lying on the
rocks in summer time. Some local gay men hang out here
frequently in Summer. If your hotel is in Sultanahmet,
you can try this place for a couple of hours in early
evenings, at least to get a little sun tan. Do not stay
long after dark. When you come from Sultanahmet walk
into Gulhane Park's main gate from the tramcar street,
and get out from the gate at the other end of the park.
You will be right there.
Kadikoy Park
Kadikoy is the major residential district on the Asian
part of Istanbul. The coastal area, the parks near
Kadikoy-Besiktas Iskelesi (the older ferry pier in
Kadikoy),
the breakwater (the one with light house) are
well-known gay cruising areas. These places usually get
cruisy in the evening. There is no obvious gay
atmosphere at day time. In summer time the breakwater
can be more busy during the day, especially on weekends,
when you can see people sitting on the breakwater's
wall, lying on the rocks, fishing or drinking beer. You
can get to Kadikoy from Eminonu, Kabatas and
Karakoy piers by ferryboats, journey lasting about
20-30 minutes. Unless you are only into outdoor
cruising, this is not the place worth spending time for
tourists who visit the city for a few days. You can try
once if you stay long enough in Istanbul, after seeing
all he rest. It may also be a good excuse the visit the
Asian side Istanbul. .
Ortakoy Coast.
Once a small fishing town,
Ortakoy has become popular in
recent years with bars, restaurants and cafe-shops
creating a summer-town atmosphere within the city. It is
closer to major Besiktas district along the
Bosporus
Straight. The coastal area around the Ortakoy Mosque is
very busy and there's a vibrant night life in summer
time, especially busy during the day on Sundays. 10-15
minute ride away from Taksim with a taxi but it may take
much longer during rush hours. You can also use public
buses which follows the coastal route from Eminonu,
Karakoy and Taksim heading to Sariyer, Bebek districts.
Do not expect an obvious gay scene here also, but if you
have extra time you can visit Ortakoy just for fun at
least for an afternoon.
Fatih Park
The park at Sarachane quarter of Fatih district,
officially named as Fatih Anit Park . It is rather closer
to Aksaray, in the surroundings of administrative
building of Istanbul Municipality (Istanbul Buyuksehir
Belediyesi). Actually there are many
parks on both side of the street. The cruising is
focused at
the parks around the ruins of Roman church's (Polyeuktos).
This is the most risky cruising place. Be careful with
people you meet here and make sure not to carry your
valuable things with you, because there are always some
pick-pockets around. If you are coming from Taksim, you
need to stop at Sarachane bus-stop (at the underpass),
right before Aksaray and walk up the steps. It lost its
popularity since 2016 after the municipality moved out
the benches and put a lot of lights in the vicinity
Check out our
Istanbul Gay Map for exact locations of gay cruising
spots in Istanbul
Gay
cruising places are not as busy as they used to be
since internet and cell phones became widespread;
especially after gay mobile applications were launched.
The most popular dating app in Turkey is
Hornet among Turkish LGBTQ people since Grindr was
banned for not filtering pornographic content. Nowadays, almost every
Turkish gay men, as well as many transgender people, rent-boys and
bisexual men are there on Hornet. A less popular mobile dating application
especially among Turkish gay bears is
Growlr as expectedly. There is also a Turkish mobile application launched by
Gabile which was already a very well-known dating website
long
before mobile applications existed. Please note that
majority of Turkish people do not speak English well. In Gabile major language is Turkish, whereas it is more
likely to find English speaking Turkish gay men or other
gay tourists visiting Istanbul on Hornet and Growlr. Naturally, you should be a little careful if you date
someone via gay dating applications, just like
anywhere else in the world. You can also come across
many rent-boys on these dating applications.
There are
no gay exclusive cinemas/movie theaters in Istanbul:
There were some heterosexual porno/erotic movie cinemas
frequented by gay men which were all closed down one
after the other. This was mostly because internet and
smart phone era has affected gay cruising venues and
outdoor cruising areas negatively.
In case you may still see them in some out-dated
online / printed gay guides we would like to list the
name of these cinemas where gay men used to go.
Following venues are closed for sure.
Ruya Sinemasi (Closed down in 2009)
Istiklal Caddesi No:128, Taksim-Beyoglu, Istanbul
Gunes Sinemasi (Closed down in 2008)
Kurkcubasi Kulhani Sokak, No:5, Aksaray, Istanbul
Aydin Sinemasi (Closed down in 2008)
Millet Caddesi, Findikzade, Aksaray, Istanbul.
Dilbazlar Sinemasi (Closed down in early 2014)
Hasnun Galip Sokak Istiklal Cad, Beyoglu, Istanbul
The popular gay and lesbian friendly hotel in the past few weeks
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A private gay guide will accompany your first nights in Istanbul
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