TurkeyTravelPlanner.com December in Turkey: Weather etc

Home
Search
Maps of Turkey
Photo Gallery

Where to Go
When to Go
Where to Stay
What It Costs
Turkish Money
Transport
FAQ-Travel Details

Best Itineraries
Guided Tours
Travel Agency
Unusual Trips
Consultations

TTP Forums
Funny Stuff
Shopping
Site Index
Bright Sun

Turkey: Bright Sun, Strong Tea, by Tom Brosnahan
Great intro to travel
in Turkey, good
airplane & bedtime
reading!

 

 
Click here for hotels in Turkey

DECEMBER (Aralık, ah-rah-LUHK)

In rare years, the warmth and pleasantness of a good November will stretch into early December.

Usually, however, the weather is chilly throughout the country, though milder along the Mediterranean coast.

In Istanbul, many days will be cloudy, with rain. You will probably enjoy some brisk, chill, sunny days as well. It is unusual to have frost in the city, and any dusting of snow—very pretty!—soon melts.

You must expect some rain, perhaps heavy, anywhere in Turkey. In Central Anatolia and eastern Turkey, there will most probably be some snow, particularly at the higher elevations (although in 2008, global warming seems to have melted the snowcap on the volcanic peak of Mount Erciyes in Cappadocia for the first time in living memory.)

Along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, snow is very unlikely. In the mountains of eastern Turkey, there will certainly be snow, sometimes closing roads.

Use this handy hotel search box to check room rates and availability anywhere in Turkey in December:

  

Did you know Santa Claus came from Turkey? He's commemorated in the St Nicholas Festival in early December in the 4th-century church of St Nicholas, in Demre/Myra, near Antalya.

For the first half of December, the Rumi Commemoration Ceremonies (Şeb-i Aruz) in Konya honor Jelaleddin Rumi (Mevlana), the great Sufi poet and mystic who inspired the foundation of the Mevlevi order of Whirling Dervishes during the time of the Seljuk Turkish Empire. 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...

The Islamic minor festivals of Aşure falls in December in 2011. More...


January

November

Tom's Almanac

Turkey's Climate

When to Go to Turkey

Top Sights to See

Map of Turkey

Best Routes & Itineraries

 

Tuvana Hotel, Antalya, Turkey

 
Whirling Dervishes, Konya, Turkey
Above, Mevlevi (whirling) dervishes perform the sema, or whirling ceremony.
You can see it!

Below,
Istanbul's Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque with a dusting of snow.

Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque in Snow, Istanbul, Turkey