Turkey Stays on Daylight Saving Time for Good
By Anne Buckle. Published 8-Sep-2016
Daylight Saving Time (DST) ended in Turkey on Wednesday, September 7. However, clocks were not turned back 1 hour, as usual, but remained on the same time, UTC+3.
Update: Northern Cyprus to Follow Turkey Time
Occupied Northern Cyprus will follow mainland Turkey and not set their clocks back 1 hour for DST in October.
Istanbul's famous Istiklal Avenue.
©iStockphoto.com/Aivita
The vote to end the practice of DST permanently took place in the Turkish Council of Ministers in Turkey's capital Ankara on Wednesday, September 7, 2016.
Permanently on UTC+3
By not setting their clocks back, Turkey has abandoned the practice of adjusting the local time to and from DST for good, effectively changing the country's time zone to a permanent UTC offset of plus 3 hours (UTC+3).
Proposed 4 Years Earlier
Decision no. 24005 of September 6, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources amended the Law Regarding the 24-Hour Day. As a consequence, the clause specifying that DST should end, and clocks be set back 1 hour on October 30, 2016 at 04:00 (4 am) local time, has also been canceled.
An identical proposal to remain on DST all year was put forward by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in March 2012 but did not go through at the time.
In July 2016, Egyptians stopped adjusting their clocks for DST as well.