Turkish Holiday Celebrations in Dalyan

The Republic of Turkiye celebrated its centenary in 2023. Prior to that time, the Ottoman Empire ruled this land and much more before some foreign powers controlled different regions. The struggle for independence was finally won and it is no wonder that some of the annual holidays in Turkiye celebrate that success. In addition, as a Musiim country, others involve the important dates in the Islamic calendar.

New Year is celebrated the world over and that applies in Turkiye as well. In 1926, Turkiye began to use the Gregorian/Western calendar and from 1935, New Years’ Day became an official holiday.

Ramadan is a central part of Islamic life, and it is an event that moves forward each year. It does not change in the Islamic calendar which is lunar but after the adoption of the Gregorian/Western calendar (solar), it comes forward by approximately 11 days each year. Ramadan is a month of prayer and reflection in which no one eats or drinks during daylight hours. In the height of summer, those hours are longer and hotter of course. Families gather before the sunrises to eat and then again after the sun sets.

Tourists will not experience anything different during the month but once Ramadan is over, there are celebrations. Ramazan Bayrami (or ?eker Bayrami - sugar feast) that follows is officially 3 days. Eid al-Fitr is the first of the 3 days and involves giving thanks to Allah. Muslims give gifts to those less fortunate than themselves and sugary food is common.

The holiday is often extended, for example if it runs from Tuesday to Thursday. What is the point of going to work on Monday when the holiday starts the following day, to then return on Friday? An extended holiday can take the whole week, and weekends either side. Many people return to their home regions for this holiday, and small towns like Dalyan certainly fill up with car registration plates whose origins may be far away.

The most important date in the Islamic year is the Feast of the Sacrifice (Kurban Bayram?). It lasts for 4 days and remembers Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. A lamb was sacrificed instead and sheep and goats are still killed with the meat distributed to the poor by those who can afford it. Others simply give money to charity. The date moves forward as Ramadan does and is approximately 10 weeks after the previous bayram. This is also the time when many Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Turkiye’s other holidays have fixed dates:

• National Sovereignty and Children’s Day is on 23rd April. It celebrates the day when the Grand National Assembly first met in 1920 during the struggle for independence. The day became a national holiday in 1935.

• Labour and Solidarity Day on 1st May is something that is celebrated in many parts of the world. The government banned this as a holiday in Turkiye for several decades but it was reinstated in 2009.

• Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day on 19th May remembers the day Ataturk arrived in Samsun to begin the struggle for independence.

• Victory Day on 30th August celebrates the victory against the Greek at Dumlupinar in 1922. It effectively proved to be decisive in the struggle for independence.

• Republic Day’s Eve on 28th October is just half a day, in anticipation of the following day.

• Republic Day, 29th October, is the anniversary of the 1923 formation of the Republic.

Tourists can expect to see parades in towns and cities throughout Turkiye on these holidays. Banks and government offices will be closed. Some retail supermarkets may close on religious holidays but otherwise, all these days are days to enjoy.