Istanbul

[Anonymous]

The last report you have on Istanbul is from June 1998. I was there lately for a period of 2 months and I thought I would update the info.

First of all the GENELEVs are horrendous. These are the government run *****houses, and as others have said, it is a crap shoot, you may go in and find a 20 beauty, or as is usually the case, you will find 35-50 yo hags. Also the hassle of going to one is not worth it. You have to leave your id at the main gate with the police and Gendarme (there to keep a handle o the young soldiers on leave), get frisked, walk thru the metal detector, and then when you are in hassled by the old madams, food vendors, and the “girls” themselves. The main one in Istanbul is in Karakoy, in down town, near all the tourist attraction. It is basically a dead end street that has the “gate” on the open side. NOT WORTH IT! Also, there was a mention of finding girls in the Aksaray/Laleli area, at the small “pubs” and “bars”. Yes there are girls there, they are not as abundant as in 96-99 due to a sharp drop in trade between Istanbul and the Russian republics, and they are not as expensive as the girls I mention below. These girls are the ones not pretty enough to strip, to be “acceptable” in the hotel lobbies, and maybe not bold enough to work at some of the upper end “discos”. They are OK, the good thing is if all you want is a quickie, you can go in to one of these bars, open around 10 pm, pick/bargain ($40 for 1-2 hrs) and take her out of there. Usually these girls will not go back to your place if it for a fast screw, they will want to stay in the area and will take you to one of the cheap rent by the hour places in and around Aksaray and Laleli. On big drawback is that the immigration police raids these places often, and if you are there, you will be taken in, questioned, and after 3 hours released. Some quickie eh.

Other options are the “strip” clubs, and the major hotel lobbies. In the first case, the girls are gorgeous 8-10, and always from Eastern Europe. The clubs are swanky, and in the nice area of town. BUT, just because she strips, doesn’t mean she will join you. These girls work for the club, and make a salary plus “commission” on drinks. Their main goal is to keep you there, drinking as long as possible, and then maybe if she likes you, she may agree to go back to your place. From those that have succeeded in getting a girl out, the fee seems to be US $ 100 for all night, which since you are leaving at 3-4 am means until 9-10 am that morning. If you want to spend $200 in drinks and tips to get laid, that’s up to you. In the second case, trolling the major hotel lobbies, it is a 50/50 proposition. If you can get one of the bellhops to point out the working girls to you, you will at least reduce the risk of propositioning the wrong lady. Again the girls are Eastern European, 19 to 28, well dressed, and pretty god looking. The fee for these girls is also $100, but if you can hook up with them early, all night means ALL night. Most of theses girls speak passable English, and you can carry on a conversation of sorts with them.

The solution I found for myself was the following. First, if I was in the mood to drink, dance and party, I would go to a place called Demirkoy Hotel. It is in the ATAKOY marina, near the Galleria shopping center and the Holiday inn. The place is basically a very old tourist vacation resort that caters almost 80% to working girls and their customers. For some reason they NEVER get raided, and I was told that they have never had any problems with bar fights etc, so generally safe. There is a nightclub there that opens around 10 pm, but doesn’t get interesting until midnight. The place is not all that imagine an old fashioned disco from the 80s and that is what it looks like. What makes the place interesting is that it is FULL of working girls. By this I men that on a slow night, here will be at least 20 girls there, and from Thursday to Saturday, there will be 40-50 girls there. The nice thing is this, they do not allow Turks in, if not the place would have 150 men in there, the majority of men in there are in Istanbul on business, and every time I went there, the men to women ratio was about 5 girls per man. The girls here are a very mixed bunch, most from Ukraine, Russia, and Romania, with a mix of Moroccan (they get a lot of Arabs here), Turks, and Iranian. The girls range from 5-8 in looks, and they all speak at least 3 languages including English. The nice thing about this place is you can sit at a table and order a bottle, ½ a bottle, or only drinks, and take in the sights. If you don’t like what you see just pay and leave. There is a price list, so you know what you will pay; the most I ever paid was $70 for 3 people. They will try to place a huge tray of fruit on it, and try to get you to order separate drinks for the girls, but the girls usually will drink with you, and if you don’t want the fruits etc, tell them, and they will not bother you again. Once you are settled in, just take your time to look for what you like, and when you find her, either get up and invite her to your table, or get a waiter to call her over. After that, it is up to you, if you want to stay and dance, or if you want to leave. Be careful, do not let the girls approach you, and sit themselves down, you will have a hard time getting them to leave. Usually the girls that come to the table are those that are desperate, haven’t a customer in a while and need money, or they are the classical pushy type *****s that are all mouth and no action. Also, make sure before you leave the place to agree on the price with the girl, again it should not be more than $100 for the night, and if you see her again, it WILL come down. Do not leve your wallet or cash in the room when you are taking a shower. Do not give the girl your tel# unless you really enjoyed it and ant to see her again, outside of this situation. Do not agree to go to her place, or take her friend along, always your place, or stay in one of the rooms at that hotel. Always use protection; the girls usually do not have any condoms, so you bring yours along (unless you enjoy playing Russian roulette with your life). These are pretty common sense things, but I thought to mention them because in our LUST, we sometimes forget the basics. I have always had good experiences at this place, by that I mean I never felt at risk, or uncomfortable, but I have picked girls that were not really pros, or good in bed. I would suggest going for the Russian and the Romanian girls, as they seem to be more uninhibited, and willing to please. I find the Moroccan and the Arab girls very prudish, and have a tendency to beg for more money after you have done the deed and generally pestering. There is a $10 entry fee, and if you leave with a girl, she will expect you to pay her $3 wardrobe fee. Tip well (door $2/maitre d $5 / and waiter $2) and when you come back you will be remembered and taken care of.

The other way I connected with working girls was through an unofficial escort service run by a Russian madam, I found this one but from what I was told there are many more like her. You call in the afternoon, tell her what you want-exactly-and she will call you back to tell you who she has available, and describe her to you. She usually has girls that have just arrived to Turkey, and as such, most of them do not speak English well. The girls she has are all 8/9 and I had one or two 10s. Once you agree on the time place etc, the girl will show up and that’s that. The fees are again $100. This is a great way to go if you don’t want to deal with leaving your hotel, and brave Istanbul traffic. All the girls from this service were MORE than adequate, and did everything I desired. Note that she may ask you for taxi money when she is leaving. Getting them into the hotel is no problem, they are used to this, and do not bother, so do not fall for any security person or doorman trying to muscle you for a tip.

That is all for now. I will be going to Antalya on the Med coast in July/August, and from what I have been told, it is even better down there. I will report back after my trip.

[HighRoller]

Dear local expert,

I really appreciate you taking out the time to answer my questions..........Thanks again....I shall be in touch........Regards..

[Local Expert]

As I have said b4, I havn’t been to Istanbul for about 4 months now but will be there in mid September again, so my infos might be a bit outdated.
It seems to be all right to take the girls to another hotel for the buis. rather than the Serenda itself. The chick I had in February or so offered me 24h escort for 100 USD, but I couldn’t make it since I had stuff to do in Istanbul.
It is true that you and the girl have to leave their passports at the reception. This is normal in Turkey, since in case there is a police control the hotel can be shut down if the receptionist can not give full information about the guests in the place. In all other hotels in Turkey the receptionists will ask you to fill out a detailed form and keep your passport for some hours for the records. Since Seranda' s purpose is a bit different to other hotels, the receptionist (and you) don’t wanna waste time filling out forms, cause u just stay for one night :-). Don' t worry about the passport issue too much, you will get it back after the buis.
At the front desk you pay your 35 or 40 million TL for the hotel, maybe that is 50 million TL now, due to the inflation (1 USD = 1.5 million TL). Downstairs in the disco you already negotiate the price for the girl and pay her in the room. Make sure to be a gentleman, you won't regret it. Treat her well and you will see the result. Up in the room, ask her wether she is hungry and if, order some fast-food and a Coke for her. The chicks in Seranda usually don't live there but in dirty little pensions around. Since they dont make too much money, they often eat just once a day or so.
The "Euro Plaza" is a nice place in Taksim. I never stayed there, so I can' t tell you anything about the chances of bringing chicks into the room, but I think it is not a problem. Just keep your room key in your pocket when u leave the hotel, so u dont have to go to the reception when u come back with the girl. There has been a lot of info on Taksim in previous postings, so it is not necessary to go into details again. Shortly: Taksim sucks when u r looking for a deal.
Bodrum is a great place for a holiday. I have no info on the scene, but you won' t have to pay for sex. There are thousands of international (mainly British) tourists there during summer and it is the holiday place for the Turkish upper class. There are between 4 and 7 direct flights from Istanbul daily and they cost about 200 USD (return).
Have fun :-)

[Hedonist]

stock broker:

You can start with giving a detailed guidance to Seranda. I think there are several people out there who will appreciate this very much.

By the way, from the bottom of my heart I want to say:
"Go Turkey! Beat some ass against Senegal!"

[Stockbroker]

hi guys ...
i am back....
ask me anything about istanbul night life....

Euro plaza is a very good hotel located in Taksim Tarlabasi
i think it is a 4 star hotel and close to "hot places".....

About Bodrum..!!!!!
We need another forum to discuss it body...!!
the only thing i could say that 3-4 days never be enough...

[HighRoller]

Dear local expert, a couple of questions for you to please answer...Thanks in advance......

Me and a few other buddies are headed to Istanbul in early August.......Heard about the Serenda from other sources as well......My question is:

a) Can you take the girls to your own hotel or some other hotel to close the deal other then Serenda itself ???

b) I have heard that passports (both the girl's as well as your own) have to be submitted at the front desk of Serenda when takeing the girl upstairs......Please confirm if so or otherwise ???

c) Do you pay for the girl at the front desk while taking the room or do you pay her when you are done ??? All nite usually means till 5 a.m. rite ??????

d) We are getting a great deal at the Euro Plaza HOtel in Istanbul....How is it location wise and otherwise ????? Can you take girls there ?????

We are also thinking of going to Bodrum to party and hook up with some college chicks for 3-4 days.....How is the scene there ???What are the happening places ??? How much is airfare from Istanbul to Bodrum ??? What is a nice affordable place to stay in Bodrum ???

I would really appreciate your responses to the above questions.......Thanks a million......

[Local Expert]

Here we go: SERANDA HOTEL, Namik Kemal Cad. Manastirli Rifat Sok. No:33, 34300 Aksaray/Istanbul.
I havn' t been there for about 4 months now, but as far as I am concerned, nothing has changed.
You take a cab from ur hotel and get off when u come to Aksaray. There u switch the cab, since the "local" cab drivers know where the place exactly is and don't have to ask around.
The prices are ridiculously low, and even lower than in Ankara. I had a great chick from Belarus for all night and just payed USD 100 for her. Notice: You have to take her upstairs and pay another 30 or 40 million TL for the room at the reception.
You enter the hotel from the main door and just walk downstairs to the disco. Entrance fee is about 10 or 20 million TL (= 6 or 12 USD). One drink and some snacks are included.
Have fun and post wether there have been any changes.

[Hedonist]

I agree with the local expert almost in everything he said. Turkey is a lovely country. When I went to Turkey for the first time, I was loaded with all sorts of prejudices and misinformation. To my suprise I found out a beautiful and extremely safe country... I wholeheartedly recommend a visit to Turkey to all fellow Americans, you won't regret it.

OK, this much support for Turkey should be enough.

Local Expert:

I have a question of you about Seranda. I read some of the other messages posted earlier about this place. I am wondering where exactly this disco is. Is it in the hotel? Also what is the local rate for 2 hours and a night with these Russian beauties? Since anybody can read from my face that I'm not a Turk, I don't want to get ripped off. Any information about prices of sex in Istanbul will be appreciated.

[Local Expert]

guys!!!!
turkey is a european country on the brink of becoming a member of the eu. what your army-friends told u about some parts of istanbul being dirty 30 years ago, might be true, but today's istanbul is a great place and you will have lots of fun. istanbul is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in europe and a "must see" place for everyone who travels over the atlantic.
chickwise you wont be dissapointed, go to the "serenda hotel" and have fun there. no need to be afraid walking on the streets at night, there are no streetgangs or so in here.
this "iraqi missile stuff" is ridiculous, even sadam would not be that stupid to attack turkey, since the turks would flaten iraq for retaliation within seconds.
so, come over and have fun !!!!

[Everyman]

In eFrog's defence, you did sound awfully uncertain about going to Turkey, usa. I have heard people complain that Paris is filthy and smelly, so I would agree with Frog in that how you approach a country makes a big difference. I enjoyed Turkey as much as Italy, but some people hate Italy, so who can say. The State Department usually errs on the side of caution; if they say its ok, its probably ok. I don't recall much in the way of SW activity, but I was traveling with a woman at the time so i wasn't really looking.

[USArocks]

eFrog:

"If you don't feel like travelling, why do you"

I do feel like travelling, and I am travelling. Hence my post. You might want to actually read an article before you post a reply to it.

Comment all you want about your countries "history", the fact still remains that it is right smack in the middle of a hot zone, which is not a safe area for American citizens. The idea of being within 10 minutes range of a Iraqi missle strike just doesn't sit well with me. However I am dealing with it and will be travelling next month regardless.

Being a local, i'm assuming you'd have some good information on the ladies and the scene in the area, but it sounds like you are just a guy who has anti-American sentiment and feels like bashing, instead of answering some legitimate questions on this board.

I'd appreciate any info from anyone else knowledgable on the topics I posted earlier to reply. I am curious about how women take to American's in Istanbul.

Thanks.

[EFrog]

Answering USAROCKS :
if you don't feel traveling, why do you ?

You should enjoy all your US so safe cities, where there are no gangs, no shootings, no ripp off, ... where everybody looks so friendly and happy to help you ...
Where everybody is speaking foreign language to make you feel comfortable.

Stop thinking that US is great and everywhere else on the earth is just jungle or cheap place.

If you come open minded, willing to adjust to local attitude and feelings, then you are very welcome.
And this is true for any European country.

Turkey is just a great country and stop understating it : it is a high civilized country and has more than your poor 230 years of history...

Sorry to be rude with you, but your comment is here so often expressed by other US guys, it starts to be irritating...

[Everyman]

hey usa: I was in Turkey about 5 years ago and liked it quite a bit. From a street crime perspective I felt as safe there as anywhere in Europe. Your biggest problem will be irritating carpet hawkers. English is widely spoken and Americans are generally liked. Turkey prides itself on being secular, and if you think about it, when is the last time you heard of a Turkish terrorist?

[USArocks]

I am in the midst of planning a trip to Istanbul within the next few months, but I want to pose this question to people that have been there in the past few months. What is the security situation like? Being right next to Syria and close to Iraq most certainly doesn't make me feel very comfortable travelling to Istanbul, even for only a week or so. I've read the US State Department reports on safety and crime in Istanbul, but the material is a bit watered down. Do you guys feel safe walking around the streets there as Americans? I heard from friends who were there (as US Soldiers, stationed in Turkey about 20 years ago) and at the time they visited, they said the streets smelled of garbage/livestock, and it was simply a filthy place. Is this the way Istanbul is today?

What about you guys who are from Turkey? Now that it seems almost inevitable of a conflict between the US and Iraq, do you feel safe in Turkey?

I am just wondering how safe it is to walk the streets of Istanbul, see the sites, and talk with some of the beautiful women, being an American.

Lastly, I know that in most Eastern European countries, just speaking English and being American makes it very easy to spark up some conversation with the women, and they normally seem rather interested in you. Is this the same situation in Istanbul?

Any info from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

[Admin]

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