Turkey’s first women-only beach hit by ‘topless’ crisis

Local authorities were on high alert on Aug. 29, amid rumors that the more conservative visitors to Turkey’s first ever women-only beach were complaining about topless swimmers.

“We are recording every single complaint filed to our company. I have checked all reports about the rumur and spoken to our personnel responsible. However, there is no such controversy. Women who come to our beach freely use the beach and its facilities,” said Gökalp Dinçmen, the chief executive director of ANET, the company responsible for the beach, which is owned by the Antalya Municipality.

Dinçmen claimed that the rumor was fabricated by a “paparazzi journalist” who wanted to take photos at the beach. “Women from all over the world can come to our beach wearing whatever they want,” he said.

The Women’s Beach in the Sarısu neighbourhood of Antalya is a social facility exclusively designed for women. The facility incorporates a kebab house, a fish restaurant, a beach buffet, a marketplace with six shops, a playground for children, a sports park, and a masjid for prayers. The facility serves women between the hours of 09.00 a.m. and 19.00 p.m., before becoming a mixed meeting place for families between 19.00 p.m. and midnight.

The beach houses 500 sunbeds, 200 sunshades and 200 tables, as well as free-of-charge showers and changing rooms. All of the personnel who work at the beach are also women, including six security guards and two coastguards.