Turkey has banned the cruise ship Scarlet Lady, chartered by the American company Atlantis Events for a cruise involving representatives of the LGBTQ community, from entering the ports of Kusadasi and Istanbul, reported the German newspaper Die Zeit. According to the office of the governor of the western Turkish province of Aydin, docking the ship in Kusadasi is not considered under any circumstances, as the passengers belong to a community whose "behavior contradicts local customs and moral standards." **The Cruise Took a Different Course** Due to the ban, the trip organizer adjusted the program for passengers: Turkish stops were replaced with Cairo and Crete. The ship was originally scheduled to arrive in Kusadasi on July 7. Rich Campbell, head of Atlantis Events, confirmed that Turkish authorities denied the ship entry into the ports and noted that such an occurrence had never happened in the company's 36-year history. **Pressure from Turkish State Media** Shortly before the ban, media outlets close to the government and conservative bloggers launched a campaign on social media demanding that the Scarlet Lady be prevented from entering the country's ports. They also insisted on closing a bar in Istanbul's Beyoglu district, where, according to their information, one of the cruise events was to take place. The establishment was indeed closed - the Istanbul governor's administration explained this by a violation of established rules. Turkey's secular constitution, with a majority Muslim population, does not officially prohibit the LGBTQ community. At the same time, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government has intensified its rhetoric against LGBTQ individuals in recent years. Events during Pride Week and pride marches in Turkey have been banned or dispersed by police almost annually since 2015. Authorities explain such measures by security considerations and the need to maintain public order, reports Deutsche Welle.