Turkey Blocks LGBT Cruise Ship from Its Ports

Turkish authorities have barred the cruise ship Scarlet Lady, chartered by the American company Atlantis Events for LGBT passengers, from docking at their ports, citing moral standards and family values, according to CNN.

The cruise, called From Athens to Venice, was due to begin in Greece on 5 July and had been scheduled to stop in Kusadasi and Istanbul. Local authorities said the passengers’ behavior was incompatible with the structure of Turkish society.

Rich Campbell, the chief executive of Atlantis Events, expressed deep concern over the decision and said it was the first such discrimination the company had faced in its 36-year history. He said the passengers were not a political organization and had simply wanted to experience the local culture.

The ship, owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin Voyages, has about 1,900 guests on board, including 1,100 from the US.

The decision comes amid increasingly harsh rhetoric from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP party toward LGBT people, with Pride parades banned in Istanbul since 2015. Tensions were heightened further by a police raid on an Istanbul bar over an alleged brochure promoting the event. The ship will now bypass Turkey and call instead at Cairo and Crete.

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