:Time in Turkey
{{Short description|Türkiye time zone}}
{{Time zones of Europe}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
In Turkey, time is given by UTC+03:00 year-round. This time is also called Turkey Time (TRT){{efn|{{langx|tr|Türkiye Saati (TSI)}}}}. The time at most is the same as in the Moscow Time and Arabia Standard Time zones. TRT was adopted by the Turkish Government on 8 September 2016.{{Cite web|url=https://calendarhours.com/current-time-istanbul/|title=Time in Istanbul, Turkey}} It was also in use in Northern Cyprus until it reverted to Eastern European Time (EET) in October 2017.{{cite web|title=Saatler geri alınıyor!|date=17 October 2017 |url=http://www.yeniduzen.com/saatler-geri-aliniyor-95079h.htm|publisher=Yeni Düzen|access-date=18 October 2017}}
During some seasons (March–October), the TRT coincides with the Eastern European Summer Time (the daylight-saving version of the Eastern European Time). The IANA time zone identifier for Turkey is Europe/Istanbul.{{Cite web|url=https://calendarhours.com/current-time-turkey/|title=Time in Turkey}}
History
File:Istanbul general post office 1909.jpg
Until 1927, "Turkish time" (or alla turca time or ezânî time) referred to the system of setting the clocks to 12:00 midnight at sunset.{{cite book |editor-last1=Günergun |editor-first1=Feza |editor-last2=Raina |editor-first2=Dhruv |author1=Atilla Bir |author2=Șinasi Acar |author3=Mustafa Kaçar |title=Science between Europe and Asia: Historical Studies on the Transmission, Adoption and Adaptation of Knowledge |date=2011 |publisher=Springer |location=Dordrecht |page=126 |chapter=The Clockmaker Family Meyer and Their Watch Keeping the alla turca Time}} This necessitated adjusting the clocks daily, although tower clocks were only reset two or three times a week,{{cite journal |title=The Present Status of the Use of Standard Time |journal=Publications of the United States Naval Observatory |date=1906 |volume=4 |issue=2 |page=G23}} and the precise time varied from one location to another depending on latitude and longitude.
The day was divided into two 12-hour periods, with the second 12:00 occurring at a "theoretical sunrise." In practice, the Turkish railroads used both Turkish time (for public schedules) and eastern European time (for actually scheduling the trains), and government telegraph lines used St. Sophia time (i.e., Paris time + 1:47:32) for international telegrams.
From 1927 to 2016, Turkey used Eastern European Time (EET) in the winter (UTC+02:00) and Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) (UTC+03:00) during the summer.{{cite web |url=http://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/turkey/istanbul |title=Time Zones – Istanbul |author= |website=timeanddate.com |access-date=August 3, 2016 }} The date for transition between standard time and daylight saving time generally followed EU rules, but had variations in some years.
In September 2016, the decision to stay on UTC+03:00 (summer time) year-round was enacted.{{cite web|url=http://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/turkey-scraps-dst-2016.html|title=Turkey Stays on Daylight Saving Time for Good|author=Anne Buckle|date=2016-09-08|publisher=timeanddate.com}} However, in October 2017, the Turkish government announced that starting the next year, on 28 October 2018, the country would revert to EET and EEST,{{Cite news|url=http://www.haberturk.com/turkiye-de-saat-kac-saatler-ne-zaman-ileri-geri-alinacak-yaz-saati-kis-saati-uygulamasi-nedir-1890954|title=Türkiye'de saatler ne zaman ileri alınacak?|work=www.haberturk.com|access-date=2018-03-28|language=tr-TR}} but this sudden decision was reversed in November 2017.{{Cite news|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/son-dakika-yaz-saati-uygulamasi-surekli-hale-geldi-40637482|title=Yaz saati uygulaması sürekli hale geldi|work=www.hurriyet.com.tr|access-date=2018-06-12|language=tr-TR}} In October 2018, a presidential decree announced that the UTC+03:00 would remain the year-round permanent time zone for the country.{{Cite news|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/son-dakika-resmi-gazetede-yayimlandi-flas-yaz-saati-karari-40973809|title=Resmi Gazete'de yayımlandı: Flaş yaz saati kararı|date=2018-10-02|work=Hürriyet|access-date=2018-10-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002021436/http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/son-dakika-resmi-gazetede-yayimlandi-flas-yaz-saati-karari-40973809|archive-date=2018-10-02|language=tr}}
Today, during the warmer part of the year (March–October), TRT time is the same as the EEST (Eastern European Summer Time), while in the remainder of the year it is an hour ahead of EET (Eastern European Time).
See also
- {{anli|Byzantine time}}
- Daylight saving time in Turkey
Notes
{{Notelist}}