Kurban Bayrami (Eid el Adha) Dates

Kurban Bayrami (Eid el-Adha), the "Feast of Sacrifice" on 10 Zilhicce (Dhul-hijja) of the Islamic Hijri calendar, will affect your travel plans if you travel in Turkey during the four-day holiday—which can stretch to a week or more, depending upon the dates:

2008, December: begins on the afternoon of December 7, 2008 (Sunday) with a half-day of "preparation" (arife), and continues for four days until the evening of December 11, 2008 (Thursday), but in fact many people will take a long-week holiday from Saturday, December 6th, through Sunday, December 14th. Travel may even be affected on Friday, December 5th as vacationers get out of town for this extraordinarily long Kurban Bayrami vacation.

2009, November-December: begins with arife (preparation) in the afternoon on November 27, 2009 (Friday), and continues for four days until the evening of December 1, 2009 (Tuesday). Many vacationers will leave town on Friday and return on Tuesday or Wednesday.

2010, November: begins with arife (preparation) in the afternoon on November 16, 2010 (Tuesday), and continues for four days until the evening of November 20, 2010 (Saturday), but of course vacationers will probably stay away—and be traveling—through Sunday, November 21st.

2011, November: begins with arife (preparation) in the afternoon on November 6, 2011 (Sunday), and continues for four days until the evening of November 10, 2011 (Thursday), but travel effects will be felt from Friday, November 4, through Sunday, November 13, 2011.

2012, October: begins with arife (preparation) on October 25 (Thursday), and continues for four days until the evening of October 29 (Monday), with some travel effects through October 30, 2012 (Tuesday).

Kurban Bayrami

Ramazan

Islamic Holidays

Islam in Turkey

When to Go

Turkish Almanac

Climatic Regions

What to Wear

Travel Details

Reserve in advance if you plan to travel in Turkey during Kurban Bayrami.