Daughter Modling in Turkey
 

My daughter models and she is being requested to go to Turkey for a few months. I have a few concerns, as you can well imagine. Can anyone fill me in on the do's and do not's...where to go and where not to go,,,etc....? Any advice would be really great.

Modeling...not Modling - excuse the typo

It will not be any different than modeling in Paris, Milano or London.

She will be with the kind of people she already is familiar with. If she has not been to Southern Europe before, she should look our for sharks. I doubt that she will be alone to pick the places to go, because the agency and the designers will not let her out of their sights. And then there is the press, which somehow bring in the playboys, (i mean the sharks) :)

There are some truely fabulous clubs and a wild night life in istanbul. so, she should refrain from any kind of excess.
She will be going to Sortie, Reina, Angelique, Lucca, Mid Point, Vogue, and many others.

Also Turkish food is rather fattening. But i guess she would already be an expert in saying no to even her favourite foods. the veggies are great. Excellent non-fat yoghurt is available. Salads and grills are plentifull.

That sounds great! That actually relieves some of my worries. I am hoping I can join up with her at some point.
Thanks!

Can't claim to be a Turkey expert, but based on my limited experience otherchelebi's post is spot on. Because Turkey is not (yet?) part of the European Union and the predominant religion is not christian it often is seen as somehow exotic or vastly different than the rest of the Western world. During my limited time there I found a wonderful combination of old world charm and modern conveniences (and inconveniences, like city traffic and crowds!) but felt safe and secure. People are incredibly friendly, and the food is great!

Kassanna, don't take it personal as the poster often is rude to others. And since she posted "forgive me rudeness" she evidently is aware that she is rude.

Best wishes to your daughter, it sounds like she will have a wonderful experience. I do hope you can join up with her while she is in Turkey.

Mztery may not have been very tactful, but the underlying concern was to be sure this is a legit modeling offer. There are some pretty horrifying (true) stories in human trafficking -- young girls who thought they were going on modeling, au pair, etc. assignments and ended up in real danger. If you haven't already asked a gazillion questions about the modeling firm, do so -- if you are comfortable with the situation, then that's great.

I'd agree with Seamus; the Turkish people are wonderfully helpful and friendly. My nephew spent 3 months in Istanbul studying Turkish and had a fabulous time.

Agree that there is a potential issue here. If the daughter is an adult, an experienced model and this is through her usual agent - then everything should be fine.

If she is not experienced, is under age or naive - and most importantly - if this is not through her usual agent - she should get a lot more details before she even considers it.

(I work in a business in which we sometimes use photo models - and I have rarely seen modeling jobs that last for months - most are for a couple of days - or perhaps a week if some sort of major shoot. Even runway modeling usualy lasts the length of the "season" usually 2 weeks or less. The exception is a "house" model of a designer - who works regularly for one company or designer - and regularly shows their clothes to buyers in the specific showroom. I know somoene who used to do this in NY - and these girls are usually different from photo models - not SO tall and thin - and are paid on a weekly basis.)

Sorry if I am overstepping your bounds - but I think this needs to be considered.

I'm more surprised I guess that some longtime posters are assuring you everything will be OK without knowing the situation your daughter is considering. I am reacting to the fact that it is Turkey, but that it is an overseas modeling assignment that you are obviously concerned enough about to post on a bulletin board.

My point is, so what if anonymous people who have traveled to Turkey think it's great? Without knowing if your daughter has a legitimate modeling gig there I don't think anyone has the right to say "everything will be fine" I wouldn't say it about Paris, or London or Australia or New Zealand, places I have been and am very comfortable in, without knowing that your daughter is an adult and has a real job offer.

Re reading my initial post - it still stands.

I would be very skeptical.
Who or what is this modeling agency? I would make a personal appearance to the agency.
How & why was she picked?
How old is your daughter?
How well established is she as a model?
If possible I would insist on going with her, if you can't I would make arrangments for someone else you trust to go.

You know the old adage, "never swim without a buddy, even if you are an Olymipic gold medalist." (Well okay, I made this saying up - but it holds true!)

One hears just too many disturbing stories about girls promised modeling jobs in southern European cities.
Things that sound too good to be true are.

One other think Kassanna:
Unless you daughter is a major model and has a face that is recognizable and bankable for the company - I would want to know why an unknown American young lady would be be sent to a foreign country to model, when qualified models are certainly available in Turkey for less transportation costs involved.

Some of you are writing as if Kassanna and her daughter are naive and ignorant country hicks, who know nothing about the general risks of modeling even in the United States.

It is nice of one person to remind of potential dangers of not researching enough, but to carry on as if they have to have it drummed into their heads is rather insulting.

her question was not related to the offer but to the location. I find your answers as saying, "are you sure your daughter should get married to this guy?, Have you researched his background?" when the mother asks whether a specific venue would be a good place for a wedding. :)

yikes, i don't want to be curmudgeonly but in my opinion this job offer appears to be very dodgy and i can only imagine what is really behind this. i'd tread carefully with this 'modelling agency'.

What does being "miserly" have anything to do with the topic?

curmudgeon (plural curmudgeons)

(archaic) A miser.
An ill-tempered (and frequently old) person full of stubborn ideas or opinions

Why the continued insult or the unrequested, unnecessary advice?
Is wa privy to information that we do not know about a certain agency?

Kassanna, i am very sorry that you have been exposed to all this.

If you have further questions of a similar nature, i will be happy to respond with information rather than unnecessary and demeaning advice.

USNR gave perfect advise on the lounge thread. Turkey really isn't much different than any other society where one has to watch they're P&Qs and do all the other normal sorts of things that any of us does to protect oneself.
Interesting and just my opinion the traditionalists are probably more leery of her than she will be of them.
Good luck!

<<My daughter models and she is being requested to go to Turkey for a few months. I have a few concerns, as you can well imagine.>>

If the above concerns mentioned only apply to what restaurants to go to, and what to wear on bad weather days, then I apologize for the misunderstanding.

I was asked to do some modeling when I was in my early 20's only to find out the "agency" was later shut down by the police. So I am always a little cautious for others. Maybe the concerns only apply to the US and my experience was a one time fluke. I'm sure nothing bad will happen to her in Turkey.

To the OP,

While your original question is about the general safety of going to Turkey, what began flashing alarms is the amount of time you stated your daughter was to be "hired" for.

As someone that often hires professional actors for documentaries and as someone whose best friend was, many years ago, an Eileen Ford model, the time element is very disturbing. Major motion pictures don't have actors on location for months at a time. Or for that matter almost anyone else, other than perhaps the technical crew. We might have the host on location for maybe a week to 10 days. Not months.

I'm not piling on, I'm just trying to give you some advice from the viewpoint of someone that is involved in similar activities. My friend Tara was photographed all over the world, but in most cases it took her longer to get to and from the location than the actual shoot took.

Please try to find out more about this. Perhaps it is legit, but I cannot see a reason why.

dave

Wow. I didn't realize I need to post my resume and credentials AND tell every detail before I received legitimate answers. But, for those that are wondering, I am very multicultural, and I have a legal background. I would not send my daughter into something dangerous. And yes, mztery you are still rude.

Yes, of course I have heard the stories. (my gawd I feel like I have been dealing with children all afternoon)
SO...to recap the original question and I wished I would have simply worded the post - "Travel Advice for Turkey" -
Where would you recommend to go and not to go?
The rest is irrelevant.

By the way, thank you to Otherchelebi, LoveItaly, Seamus,and Cybor, for being so kind. Also, Daveesl for communicating a concern without being hateful. The entire afternoon is gone and I do not really have much more information than when I started (at least from Fodor's) due to illegitimate comments.

On that note, I hope everyone has a good week in whatever part of the world you are in, and please say something nice to someone at least once a day. You'll see it makes a difference.

it makes a difference on where to go and not to go how old, how well traveled etc. a person is. Fodorites ask questions ALL THE TIME about age, interests, etc. before they answer sop the fact that you are SO secretive even just about generalities -e.g. "my daughter is a college age student who has been to europe several times " or whatever. says you may have something to hide.


i now think you are really just trolling. You could get lots of info on what young people do in Turkey from a let's go guide, thorn tree or any number of sites. But throwing out that your daughter is on a long term modeling assignment that starts in turkey and may wind up in various spots in Europe raises red flags among the sane among us who have dealh with young people and their travels.

PS YOU brought up -


I have a few concerns, as you can well imagine.


just sayin'