Yanki, a transvestite who moved from Gaziantep to Istanbul, smokes a nargileh in the Istanbul neighborhood of Tophane.
Once prosperous, the densely populated Tarlabasi district is a center of migrants, prostitution and crime.
Wearing silver high-heeled shoes, Helin, a transvestite who moved to Istanbul from Ordu, relaxes in her apartment.
Helin cuddles at home with her dog Jeffi.
Transvestites appeared in public in Istanbul for the first time on historic Bayram Street.
Sheval, an LGBT activist and director of a non-profit organization focusing on women and health issues, plays with her cat.
A transvestite sex-worker waits for a customer on Tarlabasi Avenue.
A transgender sexworker stands in the doorway of an Istanbul bar, where she works at night.
A red lace top belonging to Sechil, a transvestite from Gaziantep, hangs to dry outside her apartment.
Transvestite Esmerai gets ready to perform in her stand up comedy routine at a comedy club off Istiklal Street.
Yanki, Sechil and Helin all moved to Istanbul in 2007.
Arzu selects new hair extensions at a salon on Tarlabasi Avenue frequented by transgender clients.
A leather dress hangs outside a shop near a transvestite bar on Tarlabasi Avenue.
Sechil shows her tattoo of a female angel in chains.
Sechil, Helin and Yanki work at a nightclub in Istanbul as sex workers.
Chisem, a transvestite sex worker, waits for potential customers on Tarlabasi Avenue.
Sechil eats a watermelon at her home.
Fishnet stockings hang in a store window on Abidei Hurriyet Avenue near where transgender sex workers look for clients.
Seyhan, formerly a sex worker, is a volunteer and human rights activist for LGBT issues in Istanbul.
Helin gets hair extensions at a salon.
Rena Effendi is a freelance photojournalist based in Baku.
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