One of my biggest pet peeves is when tourists don’t pay attention to dress codes at a place of worship. After all, temples, mosques and churches aren’t only created to act as tourist attractions like Disneyland. Places of worship should be respected. In this tech age where internet is readily available it is easy to take the time and research the proper attire to wear before you go on your trip. I don’t buy the excuse of “I didn’t know.”
I do my research before leaving on any trip and if I know ahead of time that a temple will be on my list to see, I will always pack a scarf that can double as a head cover or shawl and one pair of long pants or long skirt. My husband is a shorts, t-shirt and sneakers type of guy and the heat can really annoy him. But he always packs atleast one pair of long pants and dress shoes for that moment when we’re visiting a Buddhist temple in Bangkok or a mosque in Istanbul.
Over our last few trips, we’ve noticed that although we pay attention and adhere to the dress code the best we can, there are many travellers who do not. There are times when it’s an honest mistake and I’m not saying all tourists are like this, but I think as tourists we can’t be ignorant any more. We need to make more of an effort to be conscientious and respectful to the places of worship we visit.
Top 3 Annoyances
1. When travellers don’t cover their heads at a Mosque when it clearly says to do so. If you have a shawl, use it! Here is an image of a tour group while in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
2. When locals don’t enforce the dress code or etiquette. For example, in Bangkok, we visited the local temples and we took the effort to dress appropriately, wear long pants in the heat even though it was uncomfortable, yet when we went inside other tourists were there wearing shorts. In Istanbul, although the locals were asking everyone to take off their shoes, they still let people in with their heads uncovered. It’s confusing and makes the people who do adhere to the rules annoyed. Here’s an image of tourists wearing shorts in a temple in Bangkok.
3. Too much loud chatter in places of worship when asked to be quiet. At the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, all the tour groups were talking so loudly it hardly felt like a spiritual place, but more as a tourist site to check off. When visiting churches in Europe I’ve seen security or the priests ask visiting tourists to talk quietly which I think should be applied to all places of worship. The ambiance in the Sacre Coeur church in Paris felt very different than what I experienced at the Blue Mosque.
What do you think? Have you come across this before? Does it bother you? Leave your comments below.
Photo Credit: Desi Globetrotter.
