Called Eid el-Adha or Eid el-Kebir in Arabic, what is Kurban Bayramı (koor-BAHN bahy-rah-muh). It is the most important Islamic religious festival of the year. Commencing on 24 September 2015 and is the start of a 4 or 5-day public holiday in Turkey ending on 27 September 2015. It will affect your travel plans, so be prepared for it.
Kurban Bayramı, which starts on 10 Zilhicce (Dhul-hijja) in the Islamic lunar Hijri calendar, is also the time of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca (Haj), so both domestic and international travel is intense in Turkey at this time.
Kurban Bayramı doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to Turkey. You should plan for the holiday, though. Depending upon where you travel, you may find it changes your plans very little. Here’s what to do:
1. Plan not to travel on the first (24 September) or last days (27 September) of the holiday period. If you can avoid traveling on the day before and the day after these dates, that’s probably good too.
2. Have hotel reservations, if possible. (When the holiday falls in summer, everybody takes off for the beach…but not in winter!)
3. Have some cash on hand when the holiday week starts. You should be able to withdraw cash from ATMs (at least on weekdays), but it’s good to have a reserve, just in case.
The good points: some museums and sights (such as the bazaars) may be closed on the first day of the holiday, but some may be open for some of the other days. There will be enough to see and do.
You may also be invited to share in the festivities, as I was many years ago in eastern Turkey, which could make your trip particularly memorable.
Rest assured, tourism doesn’t come to a halt during Kurban Bayramı, but it does change a bit. So long as you’re prepared, it should be fun!
Banks & Businesses Closed!
Most banks, business and government offices are closed for five days or longer, so you should stock up prior to the start of the holiday on Turkish lira cash and any supplies you may need.
Shops and bazaars tend to be closed on the first day of the holiday, but some if not most will re-open after the first day. A few shops and businesses stay open even on the first day to provide essentials. Somerestaurants are open.
Transport Snarled!
Public transport continues to run, and is heavily used. Even though extra capacity (more trains, ferries, etc.) are added to the schedules during this time, planes,trains, buses and hotels are likely to be severely crowded during the holiday period.
In Istanbul, more than 2200 buses depart the Istanbul International Bus Terminal in Esenler daily at the beginning of the holiday, with Turks off on vacation or to visit friends and family, so avoid travel then, or have iron-clad reservations and be prepared for delay and inconvenience.
