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 Prayer Times in Istanbul & Turkey

 

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Turkish Muslims perform the prayer ritual (namaz) five times daily, according to the tenets of Islam.

The ezan (call to prayer) summons the faithful to the mosque for prayers. Although it's not required that prayer take place in a mosque, it's felt to be more appropriate and congenial in the sacred space with other Muslims.

The ezan is chanted six times daily. The exact time of the ezan changes from day to day and from place to place, according to longitude and latitude, surnise and sunset.

Here are the names of the calls/prayers and sample times for the ezan in mid-May in Istanbul:

Imsak (03:38 am): two hours before dawn, to awaken the faithful for prayer (pretty much the middle of the night!)

Günes (05:42 am): Dawn, before the sun appears

Ögle (13:12, 1:12 pm): Midday, when the sun passes the zenith

Ikindi (17:07, 5:07 pm): Afternoon, when the shadows cast by objects are equal to their height

Aksam (20:21, 8:21 pm): Sunset, when the sun has disappeared below the horizon

Yatsi (22:08, 10:08 pm): When the last light of day has disappeared

Then 5-1/2 hours' sleep before the next call...

You can check the exact times for the call to prayer in Istanbul here so as to plan your visits to the city's great mosques.

Avoid visiting a mosque at prayer-time, that is, at or within a half hour after the ezan is chanted from the minarets.

Avoid visiting on Friday late morning through early afternoon, which is when the weekly group prayers and sermons take place. In short, if the mosque is busy with worshippers, it's polite to return later to visit.

Here's more on Turkish mosque-visit etiquette.


Mosque Etiquette

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Dates for Ramazan

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Blue Mosque Silhouette, Istanbul, TurkeySultan Ahmet (Blue) Mosque, Istanbul.

 

 

 

Suleymaniye Mosque & Golden Horn, Istanbul, Turkey

Rüstem Pasha Mosque & Suleymaniye Mosque above the Golden Horn, Istanbul, Turkey.