In a stunning situation not observed in any other part of the world in recent years, the government of Türkiye has blocked a cruise ship carrying primarily American LGBTQ+ travelers from docking in two of the country’s ports over what they described came down to “moral standards” and “family values.”
Atlantis Events, a company that launched in 1991 organizing all-gay and all-lesbian events in California, was running the 10-day LGBTQ+ “Athens To Venice” cruise on Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady passenger ship.
The initial itinerary would have the cruise set off from Greece on July 5 and stop in Kuşadası on the Aegean Coast two days later before another stop in Istanbul. After the last-minute entry ban from Turkish authorities, the cruise organizers were forced to make last-minute adjustments that will instead see it stop in Cairo and Crete.
Atlantis Events “told we may not berth here because of who we are”
“It’s pretty stunning, to be honest,” Atlantis Events Rich Campbell described to CNN while adding that it was the first time in 36 years of running these LGBTQ+ events that he has seen his group be “actively told we may not berth here because of who we are.”
The decision comes as the government led by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has increasingly been cracking down on the LGBTQ+ community in Türkiye. In political speeches, Erdogan has personally referred to LGBTQ+ people as “perverse,” “terrorists,” and “vandals” seeking to destroy the country’s values. Pride marches in the country have been banned since 2015.
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The Scarlet Lady is set to carry 1,900 passengers of which approximately 1,100 will be from the U.S. and the rest from predominantly English-speaking countries like Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
The government in the Aydin province where Kuşadası is located put out a statement saying there was “absolutely no possibility of the group in question visiting our province for an event of this nature.”
Image source: Virgin Voyages
“We are not there for anything except to spend money”: More on Turkish gay cruise ban
“Denied entry to Turkey [the country has officially changed its name to Türkiye in 2022] simply because of who is on board,” Patti Lupone, a entertainer who is set to perform on the ship, wrote in her own Instagram post on the situation. “I am furious, but I am sailing, as the ship will make other ports of call.”
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As news of the situation spread, members of the LGBTQ+ community both in Türkiye and around the world expressed their outrage and solidarity with the travelers onboard.
“This is not a political organization,” Campbell said further of the entry ban. “We are not there for anything except to spend money, have a good time, take tours and be incredibly respectful to every culture we visit.”
Egypt, one of the countries where the Atlantis cruise was redirected for a port stop, also periodically prosecutes local LGBTQ+ residents over laws around “debauchery” and public morality but has no history of banning foreigners based on sexual orientation. Homosexuality is not officially criminalized in either country.
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