I am a photographer in Antalya. But I am from Ukraine. So the first thing I did when I arrived in Antalya was to hang a flag on the balcony next to the Turkish flag, which had been left there by the hosts. By the way, two Ukrainian flags were given to me for free by Anastasia Zeybek, who rents beautiful dresses for photo shoots: here is a link to her Instagram (@anastasiia_zeybek).
It should be said that in the spring in Antalya can have strong winds. And one night the Turkish flag just blew away. It was probably poorly secured by the landlords.
A few days later a neighbor came up to us and started demanding something from us in Turkish. My knowledge of Turkish and my husband were minimal at the time, so we didn’t understand much except that it was about a flag.
That same evening, after studying Turkish law and talking to our Turkish friends, we discovered that it’s not that simple with the display of foreign flags.
Rules for placing foreign flags
The rules for the placement and use of the Turkish and foreign flags are described in the Turkish Flag Statute No. 85/9034(85/9034 Türk Bayrağı Tüzüğü).
The first paragraph of Article 16 of the aforementioned law states that:
At international meetings, fairs and in places where foreign tourists stay, flags of foreign countries may be raised only together with the flag.
In simple terms, the Ukrainian flag can only be displayed if there is a Turkish flag next to it.
However, there are still rules to be aware of and not to break.
- According to the second paragraph of Article 16, the Turkish flag is raised on the first pole on the right side of the building’s facade. So the Ukrainian flag should be placed to the left of the Turkish flag.
- The third paragraph states: “The size of foreign flags may not be larger than the size of the Flag (Turkish flag), and their staffs may not be higher than the Flagstaff (Turkish flag).
In fact, in Antalya, and in general in Turkey, you can find many Ukrainian flags that hang without the Turkish flag in the neighborhood. This suggests that the penalty for this is probably not used in practice. But whether or not to respect Turkish laws and traditions is entirely your own decision.
About the Turkish flag
Since we have to hang the Turkish flag next to the Ukrainian flag, we should say a few words about it as well.
First of all, note that the Turks are very careful about their flag. Turkish Flag Law 2893(2893 Türk Bayrağı Kanunu) and the Turkish Flag Statute (link above) consider the following acts as serious administrative or criminal offenses:
- You can’t just throw away the old Turkish flag. The methods and principles for destroying old, faded, torn and unusable flags are determined by a regulation issued jointly by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, under the coordination of the Ministry of the Interior.
- Verbal, written or other insult to the Turkish flag;
- Displaying a dirty or tattered flag;
- Manufacturing flags that do not meet the specifications specified in the law (In Ukraine, we can sew any two blue and yellow fabrics and consider it a flag. In Turkey, however, failure to comply with proportions, color and other specifications is unacceptable).
- The flag may not be hoisted on abandoned sites, construction sites, kitchens, cars of non-leaders of the country (although on holidays you can see cars of ordinary citizens with Turkish flags).
- The flag may not be worn as a garment as a dress or uniform.
Generally speaking, Turks here can’t just raise their national flag. After all, the Statute says that
With the exception of the days listed in Article 11, Liberation and Ataturk Memorial Days, the raising or installation of the flag is subject to the permission of the local civil authorities. However, the Flag may be used at national sporting events and ceremonies and weddings if national traditions require it.
I.e. The law is written like this, it seems that to hang the national flag on the balcony on a weekday you need special permission from the local authorities.
Despite this, you can still see Turkish flags on balconies on normal (non-holiday) days. It is said that the flags are hung by citizens whose sons are serving in the army. As I understand it, the authorities either turn a blind eye to this, or it is spelled out in some other law that I do not know about.
Nevertheless, you will see many more flags on the balconies of houses during the holidays than on normal days. After the holiday is over, these flags disappear from the balconies again. This probably indicates that the Turks are trying to follow the charter of their flag.
And in general, there are a lot of Turkish flags in Antalya. They are also mounted on huge arbors, hanging on long stretchers across the road, between the houses…
…hang at the entrance of almost every store.
What to do in Turkey and Antalya
In Antalya, as well as all over Turkey, I recommend that you definitely book a photo shoot with me at least once.
I am a professional photographer in Turkey. I work both in Antalya itself (waterfalls, sea, old town, ancient ruins) and other places in Turkey (Kapadokkiya, Pamukkale, canyons, mountains, lavender fields, carpet floors and many other unique places in Turkey.
I do a turnkey photo shoot. You don’t have to worry about makeup, styling, dress rentals. Sometimes a transfer can be included in the price.
You can view my portfolio and order the coolest photo shoot at this link: https://www.dubovaya.studio/
