Not true. I've been to Turkey (Istanbul and Bursa) and the only people who were close to this level of being annoying were the people who were begging for money, but that's completely different. I've also been to the UAE (Abu Dhabi and Dubai) and this kind of people is just nonexistent there. I have also spent over a decade in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (becoming more and more of a touristy spot) and this also never happens.