Official
holidays
Jan
1: New Year's Day
National
holidays
Apr
23: National Sovereignty and Children's Day
(anniversary of the establishment of Turkish Grand
National Assembly)
May
1: Labour and Solidarity Day (recently added in
2009)
May
19: Atatürk Commemoration and Youth & Sports
Day ( the arrival of Atatürk in Samsun, and the
beginning of the War of Independence)
Aug
30: Victory Day (victory over invading forces in
1922).
Oct
29: Republic Day (anniversary of the declaration of
the Turkish Republic)
Religious
holidays
Seker
Bayrami:Three-day festival when sweets are eaten to
celebrate the end of the fast of Ramadan. Also known as
Ramazan Bayrami.
Kurban
Bayrami: Four-day festival when sacrificial sheep
are slaughtered and their meat distributed to the poor.
The
dates of these religious festivals change according to
the Islamic calendar an thus occur 10-11 days (exact
difference between Gregorian and Lunar calendars is 10
days and 21 hrs) earlier each year. According to this;
Seker
Bayrami was celebrated on 30 September-1-2 October 2008,
and it will be celebrated on 20-21-22 September 2009, on
9-10-11 September 2010, and on 30-31 August-1 September
2011.
Kurban
Bayrami was celebrated on 31 December 2006-1-2-3 January
2007 and on 20-21-22-23 December 2007, and on 8-9-10-11
December 2008, and will be celebrated on 27-28-29-30
November 2009, on 16-17-18-19 November 2010, on 6-7-8-9
November 2011, and on 26-27-28-29 October 2012.
Note
Muslim
festivals are timed according to the phases of the moon
and change each year. During the lunar month of Ramadan
that precedes Ramazan Bayrami, Muslims fast during the
day and normal business patterns may be interrupted.
Some restaurants are closed during the day and there may
be restrictions on smoking and drinking. Generally,
centres of tourism are unaffected. Some disruption may
continue into Ramazan Bayrami itself. Ramazan Bayrami
and Kurban Bayrami may last anything from two to 10
days, depending on the region. Transport and hotels are
very busy during these holidays, so book in advance.
