On Istanbul Beaches, an Altered Social Fabric

But while the men were branded as offensive for being undressed, their wives were deemed unsuitable for wearing the long cloaks favored by religious Muslim women. Modern Turkey, though 99 percent Muslim, was founded in 1923 as a secular republic, and was led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the dashing military hero who conceived the nation-state from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Ataturk embraced the French definition of secularism -- not so much neutral toward all faiths as antagonistic toward public expressions of the dominant religion.

In Turkey, female government employees are forbidden to wear the head scarves that, despite the official line, a majority of Turkish women wear, some out of tradition, others for religious reasons. Ataturk favored tuxedos, cigarettes and pinups of models in bikinis.

"We are Ataturk's women!" shouted Mine Okcugil, 38, clasping the hand of the woman in the chaise longue next to her at Caddebostan. Her own bikini was in danger of falling off her front. She works at the Agriculture Ministry.

"We are all modern women of the republic," said Semra Aydemir, 52, a retired teacher, also in a tiny two-piece. "We are against terrorism. We are against violence. We are against ugliness."

So it is that men and women roaming the beach in T-shirts reading "Security" keep an eye peeled not only for men wearing too little but for women wearing too much. Female beach-goers no longer are allowed to wade with their legs covered by flowing fabric.

This rule puzzled Yasar Korkmaz, who patrols the beach for the private security company retained by the municipality. "I don't understand what's wrong with a dress," he said. "That's not like showing something."

He allowed that it smacked of politics.

"The whole beach thing is about politics, actually," said Ismail Anbar, a fellow guard.

That may be the one point of agreement this summer. Turkey's elected government, for decades controlled by elites, has for almost three years been led by a populist with roots in political Islam. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan campaigned as a black Turk and did jail time for mixing religion and politics.

No other party approaches the popularity of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, which came to power on a landslide vote by the poor who are now venturing onto Istanbul's main public beach.

"The people who were baking there were the prime establishment of Istanbul, imitating perhaps the French Riviera at the time, and they did not have to worry about the Anatolian newcomers," said Ali Carkoglu, a political scientist at Istanbul's Sabanci University. "But times have changed. Now they don't own this place. They don't even own the intellectual space. So they're going to have to live with this, I'm afraid."

Among the other writers flocking to the defense of don was Timur Danis, whose satirical magazine Leman sponsored a beach rally under the banner "Hold Onto Your Underwear."

"To go into the water in your underwear is not an easy thing," Danis said. "It's a very naïve thing, an indication of your poverty."

At city hall, officials softened the swimsuit rule by putting heavily discounted suits on sale.

"With migration, of course, everyone is bringing their own culture. The idea is to merge these people into the city culture," said Mustafa Demircan, deputy mayor of the district where the beach is located.

He blamed a lack of urban planning that has kept people living essentially as villagers in shantytowns that ring Istanbul. "We have people who have never seen the sea," Demircan said. "They've never seen the Bosporus. They don't even know how to cross the street by the traffic light."

Others forget where they are. One recent afternoon, a well-dressed man strode onto Caddebostan beach and started undressing. He was down to his skivvies when, from her chaise, Aydemir called to the guard: "Can you please take care of that gentleman! He's setting an example here!"

Ismet Gunebakan, 52, already was wrapping a beach towel around himself when the officer approached. "It's my first time here," the civil servant explained, after returning from the changing room he had not noticed. He was wearing his swimsuit.

Smiling, he pointed to his pale chest, white even by the standards of Istanbul's elite: "You can see from my color that I'm not a regular."