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.
