Homosexuality is not criminalised in Turkey but homophobia is widespread. It reaches even the highest levels of government, with the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, regularly describing LGBTQ+ people as “perverts” and a threat to the traditional family.

Istanbul Pride was once a lively affair with thousands of marchers but it has been banned each year since 2015 by Turkey’s ruling conservative government.

In 2000 the then tourism minister apologised after police prevented more than 800 gay tourists on a cruise liner from entering Kuşadası and the nearby Roman ruins at Ephesus. “I hope they will complete their trip without any problems,” Erkan Mumcu said. “We cannot discriminate according to people’s sexual preference.”