Barely illegal: The changing face of Turkey's pleasure industry
Prostitution and escort services — often one and the same — are flourishing through aggressive promotions using hookup apps, social media and online marketplaces right under the nose of Islamists.
What is the best way to write about the sex industry in Turkey? I posed this question to a well-known Ottoman historian. He smiled at me on a warm Istanbul evening and said, “Did you ever visit Zurafa [Street]?”
Zurafa Street is in one of Istanbul's oldest and most notorious brothel areas, dating back to Ottoman times. However, over the years, the number of brothels has dwindled. Indeed, the brothels and the official tallies of the women working in them reveal only a small part of Turkey's sex industry.
