Tips for Women Traveling in the Muslim World
By Rose Aslan, Freelance Writer



Traveling as a single woman has its advantages and benefits, but as always, there are drawbacks if one doesn’t go prepared. Various Muslim countries in the Middle East and nearby are still very conservative in their customs and traditions and foreign women should be careful to follow certain etiquette. This is not only to respect the local culture but more importantly to avoid harassment. I have heard way too many horror stories from solo women traveling in Muslim countries, so here are some tips to avoid getting into any embarrassing or even potentially dangerous situations.

1. Bring appropriate clothes

Apart from tourist resorts such as the Mediterranean Coast of Turkey, Red Sea resorts in Egypt or beach resorts of Bali, it is advisable to follow a more conservative dress code. Shorts and tank-tops are definitely a no-no, as are mini-skirts and tight clothes. While wearing a loose jacket and headscarf in places like Iran is mandatory for all female citizens and travelers, similar dress codes of a lesser scale should be observed in other Muslim countries even if there is no government imposed laws. In a country like Egypt, you will find most local women dress in clothes that cover everything except their face and hands, but you needn’t go this far. A loose long sleeve shirt (which is much more suitable for hot weather anyway) along with a flowing skirt and sandals is the best way to go. You will receive less stares and more respect from locals. Also, don’t forget to carry a headscarf at all times to wear when entering mosques and some Christian churches.

Just as an example of the importance of wearing the right clothes, once, in a famous tourist area of Cairo, I saw two Russian women sporting very short shorts and halter-tops. There must have been a hundred men staring at them in amazement, following after them as if in a parade. On the other hand, in my modest long sleeve shirt and skirt, the men hardly batted an eyelash at me.

2. Wear a wedding ring

This is a necessary step one must take to avoid men getting too close or proposing to you (before I learned this trick, I must have gotten at least twenty proposals of marriage from men in the various Middle Eastern countries I traveled to). Before setting off on your trip, conjure up a believable story about your ‘husband’. You can tell people something along the lines that your husband is waiting for you in the next town over and you are just visiting some good friends in the area. It’s always good to make sure people know that you are on your way to meeting your husband. Also, if you are traveling with a man who is not your husband, wear a wedding ring anyway and tell people you are married. Dating before marriage or even having friends of the opposite sex is looked down upon in Muslim societies.

3. Don’t get too close to men in the hotel or in the tourism business

A lot of these men are used to foreign women and like to think that they can get them to bed with a few smooth words. Of course western women are used to mixing with men in purely friendly conservations and innocent nights out, yet beware most men in Muslim countries don’t think this way. By accepting an invitation from a local man, you have just agreed to sleep with him (in his view). A simple dinner or walk by the beach may be a big deal for the man since women in his country would never think of doing this. He may even propose to you before nightfall if you are really unlucky.

4. Never make eye contact with men in the street

If you observe local women, you will not see one of them looking around at people or walking slowly, they always appear to walk briskly to an apparent goal. If you want to take a look at the surrounding scene, then sunglasses are a must so men cannot attempt to make eye contact. Eye contact is a serious move in Muslim countries, and making contact with a strange man is your invitation to some annoying comments or even worse, an unwanted stalker.

5. Set-up a makeshift door alarm in your hotel room

There are many ways to set up a fool-proof alarm in your hotel room. This is sometimes necessary for single females as hotel managers, clerks, or ordinary thieves might decide that they have the right to pay you a night visit since, after all, you look just like those foreign women in movies who sleep with any man they meet. So what you can do is push a desk or table against the door, and then place an object such as a glass on the edge of the table. If anyone attempts to open the door, they have trouble opening the door because of the table, and then the glass will fall, which will most probably scare away any potential intruder and wake you up.

6. Carry a pocket knife and pepper spray with you

It might sound a little drastic, but I always keep these in my pocket or shoulder bag at easy reach. Even though I have never had to use them, I have definitely made use of them to threaten possible potential attackers. If anyone attempts to get near you or hurt you, just pull out the pepper spray, hold your place and threaten to spray it in the person’s eyes. This has worked for me on several occasions.


7. Try to befriend local women

Local women, especially students, will often be fascinated by you, a strange looking foreigner and will try practicing their English on you. Take advantage of your female status and go into a world where most foreign men can never enter. It’s really fun to hang out with the ‘gals, you can learn a bit of the language, culture, and cooking too.

Most of all, if you learn to respect local customs and traditions, your trip could be immensely richer and more pleasant and you will return home with warm memories with not a complaint to be heard.

çüş!

In which countries are women supposed to set up a trap in their hotel room?

GatewaytoTR's post is outrages!!
However, it brought some memories to me as well:
It was years ago, i was walking around sultanahmet-istanbul. And I saw this beautiful beautiful looking girl. She was wearing this wonderful mini skirt and suddenly as if it was magic, we had an eye contact very very briefly and I saw a very brief smile on her lips. But it was enough for me..and I feel in love at the spot..
And I started to follow her of course..But i could could not find any carouge to talk to her to express what I felt. And I learnt which hotel she lived. whereever she went I was right behind her. It went on 4 days
And everyday we had some eye contacts and strangly she was not smiling. After second day, when we had eye contact, she looked scared of something and she kept looking behind when she was wondered around.
But of course, all I wanted to say was what I felt about her.
End of the third day I saw her buying something very similar to this :

before she went to her hotel..and she looked more scared..
And the last day, I just saw her very briefly when I was waiting in front of her hotel..because some police cars came and she went to the airport with them.

She is still an unfinished song for me..
:-S

now that's what i call weird, i never realised the difference is that big... makes me wonder if it's worth going there in the first place

just think a bit...if i smile to you that doesn't mean i've fallen in love and i want to spend my whole life with you, and do i really have to watch my back all the time to make sure that noones stalking me? :-S it's just weird that's all...