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I have always been fascinated with the ancient Ottoman Empire since hearing about it in high school. I have always wanted to visit Istanbul. My trip is not so much boytoy or moneyboy related but more of a cultural photo perspective. I am not Tomcal and I don't have tons of boy photos. I am not Firecat and have tons of sex adventures. But, I am enjoying my time in this magical land and I hope some of you will enjoy the photos and the adventure as well. Day 1: Spice Market The Spice Market, or the Egyptian Market, is one of the coolest places to go in Istanbul. It is one of the larger markets and inside you will find tons of spices and places that make Turkish Delight. Naturally, I had to buy a box or two. It was originally called the New Market as it was next to a Mosque that was built from taxes from the Egyptian treasury. There was a big crowd there today but still it was enjoyable to see.

My first night I did meet a taxi driver that was very cute. He had manicured hands, clean shaven and designer clothes. I asked him where the gay bars were just to find out if he was gay and he told me. He and I chatted. It was a bad chat as he speaks no English. But, i did take him to dinner that night. He was very sweet and taller than me (I'm 6'2"). I have another meeting with him on the trip and he will take me back to airport when I leave.

Day 2 The Bosphorus River Cruise The Bosphorus River runs through Istanbul. It is a legendary river that has been in many films and the mansions that were build on the River date back to the Ottoman empire. There was one that a sultan just purchased for 125 Million USD to renovate for his 2nd wife. The river gives you a nice view of beautiful homes, several bridges, the huge Rumelihisar fortress as well as tons of homes that fill the mountain tops of the river areas. The cruise was a great time but the weather was cold and taking photos in an open air boat got this New Yorker, really cold!

You are welcome. Even if you visit Brazil only a week or so, it might be a good idea to get a cell phone SIM card. I visit there many times each year and I would be lost without my telephone. Calling from Brazil using roaming on a U S telephone is outlandishly expensive. Using a local SIM card can be very inexpensive. There are lots of ways I use my phone in Brazil. I not only communicate with garotos and other friends in Brazil, I receive telephone calls from my friends and clients in the U.S. without having to pay a charge for a call. They dial a local U S number which rings me in Brazil and neither of us has to pay for the call. This is entirely legal and is advertised in the U S as a possibility. Without a local SIM card, this feature will not work in Brazil without charge. If you plan to visit the saunas and if you meet a garoto that you like, you most definitely will want a cell phone for making future plans with the garoto. I mentioned that I use TIM as my cell phone provider in Brazil. There are other carriers, such as OI, Claro and Vivo in addition to TIM. Depending if you are in Rio or Sao Paulo, it is relatively easy to purchase a working SIM from a local department store. The easiest and quickest would be to go (in Rio or Sao Paulo) to a chain department store named "Lojas Americanas" a chain with several branches in those cities. If you are lucky, you will find an employee who speaks a little bit of English. If you are not, just bring your unlocked cell phone with you to the store and look for a kiosk displaying one of the logos mentioned above. TIM is the most common in Rio and Sao Paulo. However, any of the carriers I mentioned above will be fine. While you are in the U.S., you might want to use google translator and print out a page in Portuguese saying that you are American and that you want to purchase a prepaid SIM plan with data. I already mentioned the costs in my earlier post. The SIM must be registered. A copy of your passport is sufficient to have the SIM registered in Brazil. If you are curious about some of the things you can buy using TIM, take a look at its web site. Here is the web address; www.tim.com.br The site is in Portuguese but there is an option to switch to English. Go to the upper right hand side of the home page in the search box and type in - TIM+INGLES If you cannot get the web site to change to English, go to google search and then enter -" tim.com.br English language". This should bring up a link that will take you to the English section of TIM telephone company in Brazil. Happy travels to Brazil

From the New Yorker magazine: Speaking to reporters in his office in Indianapolis, Pence said that he made the astonishing discovery about gay friends late last week. “A lot of everyday people have gay friends, and they’re not afraid to call and/or e-mail you to tell you that,” Pence said. “To be honest, I’m still trying to process it all.” Pence said that from what he has been able to gather thus far, the phenomenon of “ordinary folks” having gay friends “has been going on for years.” “You could be walking down the street, and without you knowing it, this person is friends with gays and that person is, too,” he said. “It really seems to be pretty widespread.” “It’s the darnedest thing,” he added. While Pence acknowledged that he has “no gay friends personally,” the growing popularity of being friends with gays has made him question whether he has been “missing the boat on this.” “When I see so many people having gay friends, it makes me wonder if I should go out and get one,” he said. “But I guess that would be kind of hard for me to do now.” I was about mid-way through the piece before I realized it was satire. Dumb ass me.

Sure wish I could have stood with you under the dome in the Hagia Sophia! A few weeks ago, there was an interesting program on Nova trying to figure out how that amazing structure, huge and open as it was, could stand solidly for 1500 years in earthquake country. They also used some high-tech gizmos to peer behind the centuries of changes to see what some of the original Christian adornments looked like. Apparently, no shortage of gold in those days!

The Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Church and then a Mosque and now a museum. It portrays many beautiful mosaics from the New Testament and it very lovely to see. It also tells a lot about the value that the Turkish placed on historical buildings. It is a example of Byzantine architecture and it was the largest domed church in the world for nearly 1,000 years. The church was converted to a Muslim Mosque when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople and many of the Christian symbols were destroyed but the building itself stood tall. Today was rainy and wet and messy and there was a line around the block. My driver told me at least 2 hours. I was not willing to wait. But, a guy approached us and said for an extra 3USD he would take me to the front of the line and get me in. I was doubtful but agreed. It worked great and no wait time. He did the same thing for the Cistern an hour or two later. I tipped him both times and he followed me saying “my friend, my friend.” LOL But, I think I pissed off more than a few who were waiting properly with umbrellas and rain gear.

Wait. Isn't that a three for one? Best regards, RA1

The front page of the Indianapolis Star said something to the effect of Change This Now. I don't think they saw the backlash that was coming. And, I also wonder if this is not a good thing as this make make the SCOTUS understand that gays need to be a protected class?

Mvan 1, I love that kind of detailed descriptions of services and step by step directions. Many folks skip over stuff they consider obvious, to the confusion of their less knowledgeable readers.

Gotta be grateful for those Social Secuirty and IRA checks.....

I agree with tomcal’s opinion concerning the lack of need to hire a guide in Rio de Janeiro. I emphasize “need” compared to “desire” when it comes to hiring a guide. I just finished my 123rd trip to Brazil. In all my trips, I have never hired a guide. I never felt the need to hire a guide. At the same time, I realize that many people are not as independent or adventuresome as I and are nervous about visiting foreign countries where they do not know the local language or the local customs and environment. Despite my lack of knowledge of the local language during my early trips to Brazil, I never had a problem navigating my way around Brazil and/or the saunas or anywhere else I wanted to go. I always do my research before I travel to any city that is unfamiliar to me. I believe that if one has sufficient information and maps, rarely will anything go wrong or be disappointing while in an unfamiliar city. On several trips to Brazil, I took certain garotos with me when I visited other cities. However, those garotos were not guides for me. I did those garotos a favor in paying their way to cities that they ordinarily would never see. While it is true that the garotos were helpful in translating things for me, I could have done very well on my own. In some cases, having a garoto with me while I was traveling around in Brazil, was an inconvenience because I was “stuck” with the garoto and could not do many “sauna” things that I would like to have done. I felt obligated to spend time with the garoto. Therefore, there are advantages and disadvantages to having a garoto type “guide” accompany you on trips. While visiting the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre, Recife, Curitiba, Salvador and certain other cities in Brazil, there is no need for a guide. As I wrote, just do your research about the places you want to visit and the things you want to see. On the other hand, there are people who prefer to hire a guide. This does not mean that these people are intellectually substandard or even fearful. It merely means they prefer to have a guide rather than not have a guide. It is that simple. In short, it is a personal choice to have a guide or not have a guide. My choice is to travel without one.

BIG HACK NEWS -- I found that you can UNLIKE old posts that you had Liked, and the liberated Likes immediately become available for you to use again, on any post! Go way back to old posts though, so that whoever posted the thing you just un-Liked will not be looking that far back, and get offended by your un-liking them.

I read a lot of posts about hiring a guide. Beyond the non-sexual visiting the spots that the tourist should see, how does a guide work in relation to your experiences meeting guys. Do they go to the saunas with you? Arrange guys to meet at your hotel. What would the cost be for this? I'm exploring a trip to both Sao Paulo and Rio.

I just did this again, and it works perfectly. Apologies to anyone who is hurt that I happened to "unlike" them....OR if you don't give a shit, well I'm OK with that also. A girls got to do what a girls got to do"

Ha it worked....When Oz manages to find his way out of that Turkish bath, maybe he can come home and straighten this whole 'like' nonsense out. Until then...I saw this, and while it is technically not a joke, it did make me laugh. This could quite possibly be Sybil and Bigvalboy at the beach together. There is a striking resemblance.

Shh. Ladies don't speak of one anothers' multiple personalities in public.

There, I gave you one of mine. BIG SECRET HACK -- I found that you can go back and UNLIKE old posts that you had Liked, and the Likes immediately become available for you to use again! Hopefully whoever posted it will not be looking way back at old posts and get offended by your un-liking them.

Damn it to hell, I'm out of likes again!! So Sybil, MsAnn, and Bigvalboy all like this.

I also loved Steven King's response: @StephenKing Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration act is gay discrimination, pure and simple. You can frost a dog turd, but it's still a dog turd. As for this thread, I love the topic but hate personal attacks. Please stick to the topic.

WOW

Fascinating city. I remember taking the ferry across to the Asian side of the river, just so I could say I have been on the Asian continent. Hope you get to try out a Turkish Bath.

Love this Oz. great photographs. Hope you enjoy Istanbul. Do not miss Ephesus, it is a must see, as is the Temple Basilica of St. John.

Your psychoanalysis gives me a Boner, Dr Phil............

Good and maybe one day they will go to the Thai way, just buy one at 7-11.

I remember Danilo, the guide. I think you mentioned some time back that Danilo is now in a different line of work. I recall that everyone who hired him for being a guide (not as an escort or garoto), was happy with his services.

Hi, you did say your buying the SIM card took place "years ago" and that laws maybe changed over time. Yes, the laws did change. Americans no longer have to have a Brazilian register a SIM card for the American. As I wrote, you simply go to a store in Brazil and present a copy of your passport and the clerk will register you along with the telephone number assigned to the SIM card. Back in 2003, it was a pain to get a phone and phone number. Fortunately, those days are gone.

I have hired guides for my first 10 or so trips and loved it. For me, it was well worth the money. Back then, it was 100 USD per day. It was money well spent as I had a great guy that gave me advice and helped me to navigate the boys and the scene. I also used my guide to do the negotiating in the saunas and never once missed a guy I wanted as we understood everything up front. I have seen Tom in the saunas and he does not need a guide. (maybe one that slows him down) But, I found for me, that I loved it. Even when I was there with Tom on last trip, he talked to a few boys for me and IPHGuy talked to some others. Honestly, for someone so bad in understanding another language, this helped out a great deal! If you have a good guy recommendation, hire him and test the waters.

What the fuck is wrong with a snotty liberal? I just blew my nose and I'm all cleaned out.

Thanks for the post Mr. Smith, I will sleep just a tad bit better tonight..

GOP Mayor of Indianapolis Issues Executive Order Defending Gay Rights http://gawker.com/gop-mayor-of-indianapolis-issues-executive-order-protec-1694684520 "...many states with an RFRA, including neighboring Illinois, also have statewide bans on discrimination based on sexual orientation, alongside other protected classes such as race, sex and religion. Indiana has no such protections. And it explicitly prohibits local human rights ordinances from being exempt from the RFRA." http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/30/ballard-council-address-rfra-today/70674176/

As a new reader I am glad that this was moved to a separate thread, otherwise I might have missed it...Having a phone that works in Brazil is something I am thinking about. Thanks

OK. Please, what is it? Best regards, RA1

Hey Guys, follow up question, I have unlocked Iphone and plan to buy sim card there with a data plan so i can use the google translate app that will help talking with the Brasileros when i am not connected in wifi, like at the mall or strolling outside. Anyone bought sim card there and used it ? any advise ? Thanks !!!

HA! This is spot on...I particularly liked "How the customer was billed"

A friend reposted it on Facebook from, I think, GLAAD's Facebook page.

Finally and ass I can kiss. Well God Bless America, and SS.Gov.....

...and do let your "big head" do the thinking for you at all times! If you have guys over, remember to have all valuables out of sight as well. Make the better of your experience and do enjoy! Language was and has always been a barrier for me each time I've visited Brasil; most of the times I've had guides, preferably gay, who have been stellar in enabling me to have a wonderful, cultural experience. To date I only know of one gay guy who's in the travel industry and who was my guide while I was in Sao Paulo for my second and third trips. In terms of my sauna experiences, i did not have difficulties because I did lots and lots of prereading at this forum as well as at www.daddysreviews.com. At the latter forum, there has not been too much discussion within the past six months + regarding saunas in Brasil. Also, most the the guys who formerly wrote there have stopped writing at and for that site, or not at all, and have come here.

Thank you so much guys for the response, this forum is very helpful. I can't wait this weekend to be at 117. I am so sexcited !

So sorry to read of the passing of Jackhammer and FosterChow.

There was also a dinner in NYC many many years back. I am too old to remember all the participants but I know Hooboy was there and several of the posters from the olden days. Great memories.

Ojibear, I, too, thank you for your trip report. I am just reading it at 11:15P on 03.08.15. ...just returned to the States yesterday and back in California around 5P today.