Public holidays in Turkey 2028: 15.5 days, many on a weekend

A year that keeps hitting the weekend

Whether a year is good for holidays depends on which weekday they land on, because Turkey never moves a holiday that falls on a weekend. In that sense 2028 is the weakest year in a while. Full days lost to the weekend: New Year's Day (Sat 1 January), Eid al-Fitr, day 1 (Sat 26 February), Eid al-Fitr, day 2 (Sun 27 February), National Sovereignty and Children's Day (Sun 23 April), Eid al-Adha, day 2 (Sat 6 May), Eid al-Adha, day 3 (Sun 7 May), Democracy and National Unity Day (Sat 15 July), Republic Day (Sun 29 October). Those that do fall on working days: Eid al-Fitr, day 3 (Mon 28 February), Labour and Solidarity Day (Mon 1 May), Eid al-Adha, day 1 (Fri 5 May), Eid al-Adha, day 4 (Mon 8 May), Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (Fri 19 May), Victory Day (Wed 30 August).

Three years side by side

A higher total with fewer useful days looks odd at first. The total is simply what the law grants; what counts for an employee is the weekday not worked. In 2028 a Monday-to-Friday worker has 254 working days. Those who only have Sunday off fare better, since New Year's Day, 15 July and the festival Saturdays are real days off for them.

Two festivals, two different plans

With Ramazan Bayramı starting on a Saturday, the eve is Friday 25 February 2028, off from 1 pm. Without leave the break is three days and ends on Monday evening. Cover the four working days after it, not before, and the break becomes 9 days, 26 February – 5 March 2028; 2028 is a leap year, so 29 February falls inside. Kurban Bayramı runs Friday to Monday, 4 days without leave. Fill the 3 working days before it and the break joins Labour Day on Monday 1 May, giving a 10-day block. Details on Ramazan Bayramı 2028 and Kurban Bayramı 2028.

Few long weekends for free

Apart from the two festivals, only two holidays give a three-day weekend without leave in 2028: Labour Day on Monday 1 May and Youth Day on Friday 19 May. Because 19 May is a Friday, the rule in Law No. 2429 that "when a holiday ends on Friday evening the following Saturday is a full day off" applies to public offices that open on Saturdays. Classic one-day bridges do not exist at all this year; the best deals are blocks of two to five leave days. With 10 days of leave you can collect 25 days off in total, block by block, as the 2028 bridge-day planner shows. Check your own entitlement with the annual leave calculator, and see public holidays 2027 for the year before.