NOVEMBER (Kasım, kah-SUHM)
The weather can be pleasant, with cool to warm days and chilly nights, but you play cat and mouse with the rain.
Swimming may still be possible and pleasant along the Mediterranean coast—or not (especially later in the month). If your luck holds, you can have a marvellous late-year beachvacation, with low prices and no crowds.
Crowds are gone from the beach resorts, some hotels in the resort towns close, and life in the cities is more comfortable…but can be rainy.
I often travel to Istanbul and Cappadocia in November because boutique hotel rooms are more easily available, prices are lower, and crowds are smaller, with shorter lines to get into major attractions.
The most important day of the month is November 10, theday Atatürk died in 1938 (at 9:05 am) in Istanbul‘s Dolmabahçe Palace. The nation still observes a moment of silence on that day, at that time. Though not a public holiday, the national hero‘s accomplishments are reviewed in schools and on radio and television.
The International Istanbul Biennial art exhibition begins on 16 September and continues through October until 12 November in 2017 in Istanbul. More…
The Vodaphone Istanbul Marathon, somtimes called the Eurasia Marathon (Avrasya Maratonu) is the big event mid-month in Turkey’s largest city, roiling transport as thousands of runners race across the Bosphorus Bridge. In 2016, the marathon date is Sunday, November 13th. More…
Use this handy hotel search box to check room rates and availability anywhere in Turkey in November:
—by Tom Brosnahan
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