Egyptian authorities have banned the “Scarlet Lady” cruise ship from entering their territorial waters. A few days earlier, Turkey also refused to let the ship into its ports.
This is reported by The Guardian.
The ship, which is carrying about 2 000 passengers, including Broadway actress Patti LuPone, was informed of the rerouting on the morning of July 9 when it received a letter from, the CEO of travel company “Atlantis Events” Rich Campbell.
Campbell said the ship was urgently looking for an alternative port because Egypt had refused to allow it to dock in Alexandria. Interestingly, the ship successfully completed this route last year without any problems.
The route via Egypt was a forced change after Turkey refused to allow the liner to enter its waters, citing “passengers’ behavior that is incompatible with society and moral values”. Egypt has not officially explained the reasons for its refusal.
The owner of the travel company “Hermes Holidays” Kyle Olsen believes that if Turkey had not made such a decision, Egypt would not have banned the liner from entering its ports either. He also said that other states could follow the example of these two countries.
After the second refusal, the “Scarlet Lady” changed its route again. Now the liner will sail to the Greek island of Crete, and then to Montenegro. Because the stop in Alexandria was canceled, many passengers lost already paid excursions to the pyramids and museums.
- In recent years, Turkish authorities have stepped up their anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. In particular, Istanbul has banned Pride marches since 2015, citing security concerns. Last June, Turkish police detained at least 30 people in central Istanbul as they tried to take part in a Pride March that the authorities had banned.
- Egypt officially has no law prohibiting same-sex relationships. However, they are trying to criminalize LGBT people using the sex work law. To do this, the police are "hunting" LGBT people on social media and dating apps. This is according to a BBC investigation.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.