InTurkey, time is given byUTC+03:00 year-round. This time is also calledTurkey Time (TRT)[a]. The time at most is the same as in theMoscow Time andArabia Standard Time zones. TRT was adopted by theTurkish Government on 8 September 2016.[1] It was also in use inNorthern Cyprus until it reverted toEastern European Time (EET) in October 2017.[2]
During some seasons (March–October), the TRT coincides with theEastern European Summer Time (the daylight-saving version of the Eastern European Time). TheIANA time zone identifier for Turkey isEurope/Istanbul.[3]
Until 1927, "Turkish time" (oralla turca time orezânî time) referred to the system of setting the clocks to 12:00 midnight at sunset.[4] This necessitated adjusting the clocks daily, although tower clocks were only reset two or three times a week,[5] and the precise time varied from one location to another depending on latitude and longitude.[4]
The day was divided into two 12-hour periods, with the second 12:00 occurring at a "theoretical sunrise."[4][5] 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.[5]
From 1927 to 2016, Turkey usedEastern European Time (EET) in the winter (UTC+02:00) andEastern European Summer Time (EEST) (UTC+03:00) during the summer.[6] 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.[7] 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,[8] but this sudden decision was reversed in November 2017.[9] In October 2018, apresidential decree announced that the UTC+03:00 would remain the year-round permanenttime zone for the country.[10]
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).
