Tag Archives: Turkey

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has apparently ordered that Twitter be blocked in his country less than ten days before key local elections. Opposition media outlets said the block was implemented by Erdogan’s government, after the prime minister told a rally he would eradicate Twitter access in the country. The state-run Anatolia news agency said authorities “technically blocked access …

A fascinating story from Vocativ: For years, Iranians have crossed into neighboring Turkey to escape persecution for being gay. Once over the border and beyond the reach of Iran’s hard-line religious laws, they transform from bankers, engineers, students and artists into refugees, making their case for asylum abroad. Those who have successfully made it to North America, Europe or Australia, …

Via Al Jazeera: A Turkish official says security forces are searching a passenger plane that landed at an Istanbul airport after a passenger claimed there was a bomb on board. Sources told Al Jazeera that the plane, which had 110 people onboard, took off from Kharhiv in Ukraine and landed in Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport. The plane sent a hijack …

According to a court document revealed yesterday, the suspect in the New Year’s Eve arson at a packed Seattle gay nightclub was booked for a one-way flight to Turkey when he was arrested on Saturday on his way to the airport. Musab Masmari, 30, is scheduled to make his first court appearance today after a judge yesterday found probable cause …

Turkish LGBT rights group Kaos GL reports on its website: Dating app Grindr, used by gay, bisexual and curious men, has been censored in Turkey. The app cannot be accessed since yesterday evening. İstanbul Anatolia 14th Criminal Court of Peace blocked off Grindr as a “protection measure.” Kaos GL Association’s Lawyer Hayriye Kara said it is very likely that the …

If your facial scruff grows in a sparse or unsatisfactory pattern, you might consider a trip to Turkey, which is seeing an increase in medical tourism from men seeking mustache transplants. The procedure uses a technique called follicle-hair extraction, in which doctors remove clusters of hair from the more hirsute areas of the body and implant them along the lip …

An Istanbul court has contradicted previous Turkish rulings by declaring that gay sex is “natural” and should be respected.  The decision comes, interestingly, from the prosecution of a man who was caught selling gay porn. Via Gay Star News: Yesterday’s ruling regarded a trader who was caught selling 125 DVDs of gay and group sex porn. The person, known only …

Reuters reports: A man jumped on stage and pointed a gun at the leader of Bulgaria’s ethnic Turkish party before security guards wrestled him to the ground during a televised conference on Saturday. Ahmed Dogan, the long-time leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) escaped unscathed, and it was not immediately clear why the attacker had targeted him …

Four years ago I wrote about what was then being called the first “gay honor killing” in Turkey. Now it appears there has been a second. A gay teenager was allegedly killed last month by his father and uncle in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır in a murder that the boy’s rich and powerful tribal family subsequently sought to cover …

An interesting piece from Al-Jazeera examines how Turkish Ausländer are treated in Germany’s media. Turks are the largest ethnic minority in Germany, comprising about 5% of the population.

The Turkish Army grants a waiver of the mandatory service requirement if you are gay. But you have to prove it to them. Ahmet, a young man in his 20s, told officials he was gay at the first opportunity after he was called up, as he and other conscripts underwent a health check. “They asked me if I liked football, …

Meh.

In July 2008 I wrote about Ahmet Yildiz, the 26 year-old gay Turk who was murdered by his father in what was described at the time as Turkey’s first “gay honor killing.” Ahmet’s life story has now been turned into a movie. Caner Alper, the writer and other co-director of “Zenne,” was also a friend of Yildiz’s. Alper said before …

After a cabinet minister was arrested for having gay sex, an official from the European Union has asked the Turkish Cypriot government to legalize homosexuality. All of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, but only the Greek portion has repealed their ban on gay sex.

Meh. Where’s my beloved Eurovision cheese? I’d normally discount this entry from having a chance, but then I remember Finland’s bizarre Lordi, who won in 2006.

Copyranter tips us to this “idiotic” Google campaign from Turkey. I don’t know, it made me smile.

Salon reports that Turkish researchers have concluded that longer sexual stamina is correlated to increased body weight. But the reason that bigger dudes last longer may not be that sexy (for some). Men with excess body fat last longer in bed. In fact, heavier men were able to make love for an average of 7.3 minutes, while slender men could …

Many more amazing photos can be found here. (Tipped by JMG reader Umit)

Among the nine people killed during Israel’s raid on the flotilla headed to Gaza was 19 year-old Furkan Dogan, a New York-born man with dual U.S.-Turkish citizenship. According to one report, Dogan was shot four times in the head. And not that it’s necessarily relevant to this tragedy, I’ve gotten three emails today speculating that Dogan may have been gay. …

Calling it “banditry, piracy, and murder,” today Turkey’s UN ambassador demanded sanctions against Israel for this weekend’s raid against a flotilla of ships who were reportedly bringing humanitarian supplies to Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. The attack has generated worldwide outrage. The United Nations Security Council has released the following statement. The Security Council deeply regrets the loss of …