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AUGUST (Agustos, ah-oo-STOHSS)
It's hot
and sunny all month, and crowded
too. This is the best time to be
in Eastern
Turkey, when the weather
is fine and crowds are smaller
than along the western beaches;
but the Southeast is
blazing hot: don't go there
now.
In Istanbul,
sound and light shows continue at
the Blue
Mosque. Similar shows begin at
the Anit Kabir, Atatürk's
mausoleum, in Ankara.
The
mass of the Assumption of
the Virgin Mary is held at the House of the
Virgin Mary (Meryemana) near Ephesus on
August 15, with the Catholic archbishop
of Izmir officiating.
In
mid-August, Haci Bektas Veli,
founder of the Bektasi order of dervishes,
is commemorated at the town named
after him in Cappadocia.
In Izmir,
the Izmir International Fair fills
the city's hotels and transportation
from mid-August through early-September.
Victory
Day (Zafer
Bayrami, August 30) is
the national holiday commemorating
the decisive victory at Dumlupinar of
the Turkish Republican armies over
the invading Greek army during
Turkey's War
of Independence in 1922.
Towns
and cities in western Turkey celebrate
their own Kurtulus
Günü (Day
of Liberation) on the appropriate
date when Atatürk's
armies drove out the foreign
troops on the way to victory
in Izmir.
The holy
month of Ramazan begins
in August in 2009 and 2010,
and lasts into September.
More...
The
minor Islamic festival
of Berat
Kandili falls
in August in 2008 and 2009.
More...
If
you want to attend the Rumi
Commemoration Ceremonies (Seb-i
Aruz) in Konya in
December and see the Whirling
Dervishes,
it's not a bad idea to make your
reservations now! Flights
and hotel rooms are in very high
demand,
so I've teamed up with Argeus
Tourism & Travel to organize travel
programs to make it
easier for you to participate in
this unforgettable event. More...
September
July
Tom's
Almanac Homepage
Turkey's
Climate
When
to Go to Turkey
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