Attire for women in Istanbul
 

I will be in Istanbul for about 10 hours (stopping on a cruise) in August. I plan to go to all the major sites. I understand that, for the mosques, I should cover to my knees, to my elbows, and my head. What do people suggest? Can I wear shorts, a tank top, and sneakers, and then for the mosques throw on a hoodie to cover my arms/head and a wrap to cover my legs? I suppose I COULD wear a skirt/sundress to my knees (will look stupid with sneakers though...and please don't try to suggest I wear another type of footwear) but I don't know what else would cover my head other than some sort of hooded sweater/sweatshirt. Is it just your hair on the top that needs to be covered or the whole head/hair/neck? Or do you really even need to cover yourself if you're just there as a tourist and not attending a prayer? Thanks for your help!

I would not walk around Istanbul in short shorts or in a revealing tank top. I would wear loose cotton pants and at the minimum, short sleeves.

You must cover your hair and dress modestly in a mosque, even if you are there as a tourist. I would think you would want to. You can bring a scarf. You will have to remove your shoes to go inside. So you might want to wear, or bring, socks.

You cannot go to all of the major sights in 10 hours.

I agree with Ekskrunchy. My husband and I were there for a couple of days at the end of a cruise. I generally wore light sundresses or skirts with my shoulders covered. I had a lightweight scarf with me to wear in the mosques. My husband was wearing shorts and they gave him a long 'wrap' to wear.

ekscrunchy gave you great advice. I'll just reiterate that you should NOT wear shorts and a revealing tank top in Istanbul. It just isn't appropriate attire. My daughter and I wore capris with t-shirts, or dresses/skirts just to the knee, nothing very short.

THe mosques have attendants at the door who give you a long cloth to tie around your waist so that your knees are covered. I can't remember- even though we were just there a year ago- whether they gave us head scarves as well. I don't think they did.

I'd bring an inexpensive wrap just in case. I would not advise wearing a hoodie into a mosque. I think it might be viewed as a bit disrespectful.

Agree that tank tops are not seen as generally acceptable attire for women in the city, nor are shorts; capri length seemed to be OK, though.
Most mosques - at least the larger ones visited by tourists - do provide both foot coverings for all and long scarfs for women to use as needed. There are a limited number, though, and if it is busy you may need to wait a bit for one to be returned (happened when I was there, not sure how frequently it occurs.)

I would want to bring my own scarf for the head covering rather than using a scarf that many others have put on their heads. But that is just me, lol.

I would wear a skirt or capris and a shirt/blouse with sleeves and with your scarf for your head you should be fine. About the foot coverings. Are they paper ones that are disposable? If so I would use them. If not I would tuck a pair of socks into a pocket as I wouldn't want to put on foot coverings that others have worn.

I would stick a pair of "golf" socks in your purse. I've never been a mosque where they give you footies.

We were given paper socks at the mosques.

No to shorts. No to tank top. No to sneakers. Honestly.....what are you thinking?

Wear a skirt or a sundress and carry a scarf to cover your shoulders and head. They don't care if you're a tourist or not; they expect you to be respectful of their customs.

Good luck going to "all the major sites."

You don't have to cover your head in the mosques; it's optional and most women did not have their hair covered.

The larger mosques give you plastic foot covers with elastic around the edge that go over your shoes. I'm not sure if they reuse them but I would think so. You remove your shoes in the smaller mosques so bring some socks to put on your feet.

I must respectfully disagree with Adrienne. Even if wearing a head scarf is optional, when I was in Istanbul last year every Mosque I went into women were wearing scarves. Wearing a scarf and removing your shoes in a Mosque is a sign of respect and I personally would never not wear one or not take off my shoes.

When I arrived in Istanbul the first purchase I made was a scarf. They are for sale everywhere and come in all sizes and prices. On your way to a Mosque stop at one of the markets (Grand Bazaar or Spice Market) and pick one up. It also serves as a great souvenir! :)

LowCountryIslander - I'm simply repeating what my Turkish tour guide told us - covering your hair is not required. 90% of the women in the large mosques were not covering their hair. There was no one in the smaller mosques so I can't tell you what the women do there.

In the Blue Mosque and other large mosques if you remove your shoes you will probably have to carry them with you during your visit (one place to enter and one to exit). There are so many people going into and out of the large mosques that there really isn't time to remove shoes and put them back on near the entrances/exits hence the plastic shoe covers.

That's different than when I visited the Blue Mosque (two years ago). At the entrance there were men providing plastic bags in which visitors were instructed to put their shoes. On leaving, there was a collection bin for the bags. I honestly do not recall whether or not most women wore headcovering. I did see several young women denied admission until they creatively donned a scarf to cover what was deemed unacceptable dress, such as sleeveless tops or shorts. Some of them had carves with them, but I believe that some used a loaner provided by the attendants.

Women don't have to cover their heads in the Blue Mosque.

You can wear skimpy attire in Istanbul if you want to as it is a very cosmopolitan city. However, if you do wear skimpy clothing you will receive UNWANTED attention from men.

Many tourists stay in Sultanahmet and only see covered Muslim tourists. If you venture to Nisantsi, Beyoglu, or Ortakoy, you will see women dressed in the same type of clothing you would see in New York City.

Thin

I just got back from there, I wore shorts and a tank top except in the mosques and it was fine. In the moques I wore pants a shirt and a head cover

I went barefoot in the Blue Mosque and the Rustempasha Mosque, along with others who did not have socks.

I always get annoyed by this sort of question.
If you go into a church, mosque or whatever, then dress and behave in a respectful manner.
Nobody is forcing you to go into a place of worship and if you go as a tourist, it is a concession, not a right.
The last time I went to Venice, we visited the Ghetto and visited some synagogues. I made a point of taking and wearing a hat.
I never wear shorts, they would look ridiculous at my age, and Mrs J. always dresses smartly and modestly too, so churches are also no problem.

We've got a post-cruise 3 day visit to Istanbul planned, so I've been interested in this discuission. Some of the posts make me wish I'd booked just one night instead of 3. I don't enjoy constantly worrying about what I'm wearing (or not wearing). E.g. on the "sneaker" question. I have plantar fasciitis-- terrible heel pain-- and I can wear only stiff "sneakers" with orthotic inserts. I hate the fact-- mainly because of the pain, but also because the "look" is, to say the least, not lovely. At the same time, I don't want to be made to feel horrible because I'm in such "costume." I will not be dressed "smartly," that's for sure. And if temperatures are 80 or above, it's going to be difficult to get my husband out of shorts.

I may need to re-think our plans

So you would cut your time in Istanbul because you will have to wear modest clothing in a mosque? Who said you cannot wear sneakers the rest of the time? Would you skip Rome because you have to dress modestly in St. Peters?

Would you walk around in New York or Paris with skimpy shorts and a tight tank top?

As PP said above, in the newer areas of the city, women dress like they do on other major world cities..tight jeans and sleeveless tops are much in evidence.

I don't wear either skimpy shorts or tight tank tops.

In any case, the clothes question may be moot at this point, given yesterday's terrorist attack in Istanbul.

In April we visited the Blue Mosque. They had plastic bags at the entrance as someone else already mentioned. You had to remove your shoes and then carry them with you and dispose of the plastic bag upon leaving. I did have a scarf with me but our quide said it was not necessary to put it on, most of the women had uncovered heads. I have no problem with showing respect for the customs of others. IMO capris and a cotton top that covers your shoulders is just as comfortable as shorts and a tank top.

We had one loud obnoxious English speaking person on our tour that embarrassed us all. He did not want to remove his shoes because he was diabetic and did not want to be without shoes. He actually yelled that he should not have to because he was not Muslim. He was a very nasty man. Our tour quide told him he could wait outside for the rest of us but if he wanted to go inside he had to remove his shoes.

To the above poster, I loved our 3 days in Istanbul. Don't cheat yourself out of meeting history because of dress codes.

My point is that, for the most part, you can dress in Istanbul as you would in any major European city. And as in any other city, you need to dress modestly when entering a house of worship. There is no proscription against sneakers, or any other type of footwear; you need to be barefoot or with your feet clothed in socks to enter the mosques.

Choosing to forego one of the world's greatest cities because of this, or because you might be disturbed my morning prayer calls, or because your husband cannot wear long pants, or because of an isolated "incident" at the embassy of the US, strikes me as a shame.

Totally agree with eks - Istanbul is a wonderful destination, and if you don't want to conform to the dress code for the mosques there are plenty of other worthwhile sights. Outside of the mosques I wouldn't worry too much about what you're wearing - my female Turkish guide in '99 certainly didn't, and she was not only Turkish but also a Muslim. Although it's true that there are more women in burkhas or headscarves in Istanbul now than when I was there first in '74, the secular groups are still strong.

Wow thanks for all the responses! Keep 'em coming!

I didn't mean to cause any controversy - of course I will dress appropriately if I need to for the mosques, I would never miss that opportunity! I mostly just wanted to know if I could wear shorts (not too short) instead of pants and a tank - as I do throughout the rest of Europe (even for churches). It will be August and extremely hot! And for those of you who are thinking/say "Would you ever wear short shorts and a tank top in New York?" -- I LIVE in New York City. What do you think people wear in the summer? Obviously very short (or booty) shorts are always inappropriate anywhere in public, if you ask me, but if you visit here in the summer everyone wears shorts, tank tops, and sneakers. And it's 100% acceptable everywhere (except the nice restaurants, of course).

It looks like from what you all are saying, as well as what I've read on other boards and websites, some still feel that you should dress more modestly in Turkey but that times are changing and as the city is becoming more Westernized other "more revealing" clothing for women (ie, shorts vs pants) is more accepted in Istanbul than it was in the past.

I think my plan is to wear decent-length (mid-thigh) shorts, a short-sleeved or sleeveless shirt/tank (not too tight), and bring a light sweater and scarf with my in my backpack for entering the mosques. Maybe I'll bring a sarong, too, to cover my legs. I'll have socks on with my sneakers for the mosques. (to Poss - I don't think you should feel embarassed by wearing sneakers at all! As long as theyre not dirty and falling apart they'll look fine! I don't know what else you would wear for 10 hours of walking around! And from what I've read I definitely don't think you should cut your stay in Istanbul!)

I will report back when I return!

Thanks everyone!

Don't worry about your shoes--there will be plastic bags to put them into or a place to put them at a smaller mosque. (And since you have limited time, may I suggest you seek out a smaller mosque rather than the Blue Mosque where there will be large crowds).
Every one else is barefoot and there are carpets (and it is clean because of the whole no shoes thing of course), so no need to worry about socks.
Carrying a wrap for your legs would be a pain imo, I am generally just as cool in pants or a long skirt as shorts. The "look" for teens when I was there in May was long skirts and converse high tops, so there ya go!

I carried a large scarf for my head, but I also wore a light hoodie and at times just put that up--it's totally fine (for example during an unexpected stop at a remote mosque).
I saw people not covering their head, and I don't think it is polite. It's understandable to ask about being proper--it shows you want to be respectful. But don't sweat it--the Turkish are very friendly, even if correcting you :)
You'll have an amazing 10 hours, enjoy!

<<I don't enjoy constantly worrying about what I'm wearing (or not wearing). E.g. on the "sneaker" question. I have plantar fasciitis-- terrible heel pain-- and I can wear only stiff "sneakers" with orthotic inserts.>>

Don't worry about your shoes, wear what you have to to be comfortable for a lot of walking. I doubt very much that anyone will care about your shoes and you'll see plenty of other sneaker type walking shoes. they are worn everywhere!

Maybe you can get some of the hospital disposable style covers to go over your shoes in the mosques. I've seen some in airports to cover your feet after putting your shoes on the security table.

Go and enjoy your three day visit.

"times are changing and as the city is becoming more Westernized other "more revealing" clothing for women (ie, shorts vs pants) is more accepted in Istanbul than it was in the past."

Actually, the change is going the other way. Ataturk established a secular republic, but Islamic parties have been making inroads recently. Have you followed the controversy over headscarves for women college students? Also, there has been a big move of people from the countryside to the city, and the countryside was always less secular - hence the burkhas in Istanbul.

Turkish women do NOT wear burkas. It is not a part of their traditional dress.

There is a HUGE difference between a headscarf and a burka.

Those women you see in burkas in Istanbul are Arab tourists.

Thin

Wear as you like. Top tanks can be a bit to much as it is a big city not a resort.
Respecting dress code is same as you would at Church or Synagogs.

If you need there will be scarfs provided to cover head not to hide under..... Normal shorts, capris, t-shirts, blouses, shirts are all fine. Do not make yourselves crazy with dress code. You will be welcomed if you dress like you do at home. Having said that hope you do not wear and walk around with bikinis as some does in Antalya :-)

Have fun and enjoy.

Murat

Thanks, Murat! Turkey is Cok Guzel!

Just one more thought about head scarfs. In April, our Turkish conference hosts told us that the scarfs provided at some mosques are washed only overnight, and not if reused during the day. The suggested that my wife bring her own scarf rather than take the chance of reusing one.

I do not understand why anyone would wear shorts while traveling in Europe or Asia, especially in a Muslim country, even if it has a secular government. I can't believe that shorts are any cooler than light cotton pants, and they're probably not as cool as a skirt.

It's a matter of propriety.

Ooops,
This dress code thing seems making everyone busy.....

Thanks Ekscrunchy; great and appropriate way of using the language:-)

Jeff, let your wife to have the joy of buying the scarf in Turkey and contribute to the local economy, less weight on luggage on your way to Turkey.......

Pegontheroad: There is nothing wrong with wearing shorts in a muslim country. Well I can speak about Turkey; I wear shorts in my daily life even in Cappadocia. I do wear pair of pants in the evening and try not to go to the restaurants with it out of respect.

If you live in Antalya for example; you need to wear the short. 42 c.c and humidity does not allow any other. So shorts for me has nothing to do with religion and should not be! In our custom, we are not feeling comfortable wearing shorts in cities like Istanbul and Ankara in day to day life (well people still wears it and thats fine), eastern parts where tourism is not way of life and some areas might be more conservative etc.

Turkey is a secular democratic country. It is not an Islamic country. Our religion is Islam. Big difference.......

When I talk about shorts, I exclude hot pants though....

Happy travelling,

Murat

I can't believe that shorts are any cooler than light cotton pants, and they're probably not as cool as a skirt.

Yes, and they stick to seats.
They also suit very few people apart from the very young and slim.
To misquote slightly:

Sure clothe your lower limbs in shorts
Yours are the limbs my sweeting
You look divine as you advance
But have you seen yourself retreating?

I took a Med cruise last August and saw lots of female tourists in shorts and capris in the port cities but the ones that looked the best -- and coolest -- were wearing knee length, or longer, loose (tiered) cotton skirts in bright colors or prints. And walking sandals.

I wore cotton capris and wished I'd brought a skirt. I bought one when I got home and it's going to Turkey with me. It's a longish, broomstick skirt that's twisted and tied so wrinkles are not problem.

In Istanbul, I was popping in and out of mosques all day--they are gorgeous. (Don't miss the New Mosque down by the Bosphorus, and the mosque by the entrance to the Grand Bazzar.) So it was wise to wear a comfortable skirt that hit below my knees, a shirt with sleeves (mine were short sleeves), and carry a scarf with you to put on your head. Heck, this is my basic travel wardrobe for most any foreign city. Shorts and a tank top? Maybe for coastal towns, but not for city sightseeing. You'll be treated much better if you are respectful in your appearance. I wear walking sandals, but sneakers with a skirt is not at all unusual.

I had a plastic bag to put our shoes in so we wouldn't have to retrieve them from the pile at the door. We just carried the shoes in the bag and put them back on when we got outside.

I hope people are wearing socks after they take off their shoes...yuck!

"I hope people are wearing socks after they take off their shoes...yuck!" Not at all. I thought the carpets in Turkish mosques were fine. Yuck is the Kali temple in Kolkata while they're sacrificing goats.... and bare feet are better than socks for that - you can wash them off under a stand pipe when you leave.

primobacio14204; only if the socks are clean or the feet is washed well. So both can be extremely overwhelming or both can be fine....