are shorts appropriate for Istanbul and greek isles cruise?

I know in mosques and churches covering knees and shoulders is required but do people wear shorts? It will be hot and I want to be comfortable.

Not really appropriate but Americans do it anyway

We do not see anything inappropriate about it.

Many tourists do exactly this. We have done this cruise a number of times. Additionally we have had numerous land trips to Turkey and Greece. We don't wear them in mosques or in churches but we do everywhere else.

We will be flying to Greece on Sunday to spend five weeks. I will be taking three pairs of shorts and one pair of long pants (mainly for the the plane). As per the last four or five trips.

It is currently 35 degrees in Athens/Greece. They are having a heat wave at the moment. Cannot imagine wearing long slacks!

Shorts are fine in Istanbul other than the mosques.

No issues in Greece even in churches.

And it is appropriate.

The world is changing.

Keith

So many will tell you "not to dress like a tourist"...but guess what? You ARE a tourist...only the tourists go to the tourist spots! 90% of the other people in the major sightseeing areas are tourists, just like you! Wear what makes YOU comfortable, within reason, of course!!!!

We have been visiting Turkey and/or Greece every year for many years. Of course we don't wear shorts in places of worship but they are perfectly appropriate elsewhere and you will be amongst numerous people wearing them.

I think that concern over dressing like a tourist is mainly an American thing. It is similar to not wearing white after Labor Day.

Believe me, if you are a tourist the locals will know that you are, regardless of how you dress. And that goes double for the professional thieves who prey on tourists.

And if you are in Greece or Turkey and dress the way they do they will know you are a tourist.

LOL, but true.

Keith

We wore shorts in Istanbul last year - along with about 99% of the other people we saw in the Sultanhemet district. It was a VERY hot day and we were super glad we did.

I would not wear shorts in Istanbul as that is a signal to everyone that you are a tourist and likely an American tourist. A loose fitting sundress past your knees with a lightweight sweater for when you need to be more modest is the best choice for women - especially when you consider what you may find as a public toilet (squat). For men, trousers and a short sleeved shirt with a collar is appropriate.

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/clothing-pack-travelling-istanbul-turkey-12423.html

"Although most of Istanbul isn't very conservative, local dress is influenced by Islamic tradition. Men and women rarely wear shorts on the street unless the shorts reach the knee or below. Although Turkish women might wear tight or revealing clothes, foreign women in short skirts and low-cut or bare-midriff tops are likely to draw unwanted attention. Tank tops are fine for women, but they should cover your upper chest. Turkish men almost never wear tank tops on the street."

For Greece, you will be best off wearing resort wear smart casual, not shorts:

http://www.whattowearonvacation.com/us/destinations/europe/greek-islands/86-what-to-wear-in-greek-islands.php

When it is hot and humid it is fine to wear shorts.

Do you really think that even if you wear long pants that you won't be seen as a tourist in Istanbul or Greece?

Let's get real.

And by the way, some good friends I have from Turkey wear shorts as do people I know from Greece.

People are people and by the way when people come to the USA from other countries you can tell they are tourists too and is that really a problem.

When I go to Asia I am sure they realize I am also a tourist.

Keith

The fact that you are non Turkish and are in the tourist district will more surely give away the fact you aren't a local than your manner of dress.

We found Istanbul to be a very cosmopolitan city and we dressed for comfort in the July heat and did not feel at all inappropriate. Obviously we dressed so we could enter the mosques - for me that meant Capri pants with a loose fitting tshirt and a headscarf tucked into my bag.

There are pictures on my blog (link below) which will show what people were wearing around us on the day we visited.

When between the temperature and the humidity it feels like 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the heat of the summer wear shorts. No need to make a fashion statement.

Keith

For the 4 days we were in Istanbul pre-cruise -- neither of us wore shorts anywhere knowing that we would be visiting various Mosques.

Are you suggesting that the only tourists in Istanbul are Americans? And there is much more to Turkey than Istanbul.

Have you actually been to Istanbul or other areas of Turkey? Greece?

Do you actually believe what either CNN or heaven forbid what USA Today says about dresses customs/tourist mores in Turkey or for that matter any where else???

For the 4 days we were in Istanbul post-cruise -- both of us wore shorts everywhere knowing that we would be visiting various Mosques only briefly.

We two women cruised in the Med (Greek Islands, Kusadasi, Venice and Rome) in both 2013 and 2014. When it was hot we wore shorts, as did most other tourists. For our tour of a mosque in Turkey, we brought very large scarves intending to cover ourselves. Our Turkish guide told us not to bother putting them on for the mosque, as there was no service taking place. We expected to take our shoes off, but he said not to bother - just not to walk on the carpets.

Everyone knows you're a tourist by the language you speak, if no other way. In Greece, especially, the local people were just glad to see us there, spending money in their beleaguered country. We were welcomed and treated very well by everyone we met.

The first rule is be comfortable :). Do not get hung-up in not looking like a tourist because you are a tourist, everyone will know it, and so what. In Greece you are fine wearing shorts wherever you please except in churches (and some go in churches with shorts). Istanbul is a a major tourist city (and the locals do seem to love tourists) and many do wear shorts if it is hot. But you will not see Turks wearing shorts...but of course you are not a Turk. But going into a Mosque is not appropriate with shorts and in Mosques where they welcome tourists (some do not) you would probably be handed some kind of wrap (and you do not know where this carpet has been). So when I am out in Istanbul I wear lightweight comfy long pants. Ladies should wear something that is below the knees (Capris work OK for DW) and short sleeves (sleeveless is not appropriate in Mosques). DW also carries a scarf in her purse to use as a head covering in Mosques (if you do not have a head covering some places will hand you a used one).

There is a big difference between Greece and Turkey and one should show respect for the sensibilities of the locals. Greece is a Christian country and very tolerant of typical summer wear (although most Greeks will be a bit more conservative with their own dress). On the Greek Islands nearly everyone is in shorts or even swimwear. In Athens it is a bit more conservative, but I usually wear shorts. However Turkey is a Muslim country (99%) and although shorts are OK, one should keep in mind that Muslims are pretty conservative when it comes to women. But while Istanbul is a bit conservative, a tourist haven like Kusadasi is much more liberal with dress. But if you drive an hour outside of Kusadasi (such as to the town of Tire) you will be turning the clock back more then a century. That being said, we do not know any cruise ship excursions that go to Tire (we drove our own rental car).

Hank

We sometimes wonder about some of the advice/comments on CC.

It was not that long ago that some poster was claiming that tourists should not wear jeans or track shoes in Europe because people in those countries do not.

We had to give our heads a shake because we had seen this mode of dress in our travels at various times throughout western and Eastern Europe. The fear was that any cruiser who did so would look like a tourist.

It was as though the maps, the camera, the loud voices,and the gawking would not give the show away as it were.

You have two choices. You can be a rude tourist and do what you want and wear shorts, or you can be a savvy traveler and dress appropriately. It's your choice.

We sometimes wonder about some of the advice/comments on CC.

 

It was not that long ago that some poster was claiming that tourists should not wear jeans or track shoes in Europe because people in those countries do not.

 

We had to give our heads a shake because we had seen this mode of dress in our travels at various times throughout western and Eastern Europe. The fear was that any cruiser who did so would look like a tourist.

 

It was as though the maps, the camera, the loud voices,and the gawking would not give the show away as it were.

A good number of folks on here give advice based on what they "heard" or "read", not from actual experience. (And some I think just comment on everything in order to just get their "post count" number up)

When we toured the Acropolis, it was stifling hot. The men in our group wore shorts to the knee and the women wore light weight capri length pants. I would not go out in any city in shorts but that is just me. No one was going to be cool that day no matter what they wore so a few more inches of cotton to the knee or a little below did not make us any warmer. I would not enter a mosque or church in shorts but that is just my personal preference.

Wear what you want; you're a "toorist" after all:roll eyes:

I never wear shorts in an urban setting. Everyone's talk about how hot it is as the reason for needing to wear shorts and tank tops is a canard. I wore long pants and long sleeve shirts in Egypt when it was 109 F. I was very comfortable. And, I felt as if I were dressed modestly and respectfully for the area. With today's modern technical fabrics, they breathe quite well and wash and dry quickly. No need to do cotton. AND, many now have good SPF properties to keep the cancer-causing UVs from your skin.

Sometimes, I just wonder what people were thinking when they decided to bare their knees and shoulders in a traditionally Muslim-leaning country...

In areas where the norm is the squat toilet, aka the "hole in the floor", it is a decent idea to wear a mid-length or long skirt or dress. It is easier for the novice woman to "take care of business", as it were. With years of experience of backpacking and camping out in the hinterlands, I'm very accustomed to doing the squat with pants ;)

We used public toilets in Istanbul and they were just the normal ones we are used to. Take coins though because some need coins for entry. The ones near the cafe in the Topkapi Palace are free though.

You have two choices. You can be a rude tourist and do what you want and wear shorts, or you can be a savvy traveler and dress appropriately. It's your choice.

I beg your pardon, I am not a rude tourist. I am a traveller who is genuinely interested in other people and their places, but those people know I'm a traveller and I'm not the same as them. They are not rude people either, and I've never found they expect me to be the same as them.

As for "savvy," well, ho ho, you can put on the dog if you want to, if it makes you feel suave.

The OP asked if shorts were okay. The answer from, yes, people who have actually been there is it's okay. I don't recall that he asked for advice about how to look savvy or pass as a local.