I went into the "Gents" of my local pub the other day and noticed that the landlord (presumably) had been rather over-enthusiastic in his use of air freshener. There was a very strong, cloying, fake-flowery smell in the air.

Another customer walked in and exclaimed, "Cor, it smells like a Turkish brothel in here!"

Thinking about this, I wondered why a Turkish brothel? Are they well-known for their odour? Do (say) French brothels smell much different? Enquiring minds want to know.

Maybe you should do some first-person field-testing, Arnie!

arnie, the term in the States, I believe, is "smelling like a French whorehouse (or cathouse)".

"Thinking about this, I wondered why a Turkish brothel?"

This is nothing but a wild-ass guess, arnie, but could "Turkish" be associated with the notion of an opium den? Thus "Turkish brothel" conveying both sexual and narcotic?

I always wonder how they know what a Turkish (or French) brothel smells like, and I always ask.

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I always ask

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That was something that occurred to me, too. However, asking personal questions of strangers in pubs is rarely a wise move; especially strangers who are nearly a foot taller and twenty years younger, as this particular guy happened to be.

Of course, when Turkey joins the EC (possibly next year) they will have to ensure that their brothels meet all relevant EC legislation, including that relating to odours. As is well known, permitted European odours differ in several important ways from those permited outside the EC.

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Originally posted by neveu:
I always wonder how they _know_ what a Turkish (or French) brothel smells like, and I always ask.

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I thought guys generally never talked to one another in the restrooms . . . something about using trough urinals . . .

well? what DO you guys DO in there, anyway???