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Turkey
is a secular country with a population that is more than 95% Moslem.
Within the context of Turkey, by "secularism"
one should understand the separation of religion from politics, not
from the government. There is a Ministry of Religion in Turkey.
At first, it might seem to be a paradox, yet in daily practice Turkey
handles this situation quite well. The weekends are Saturdays and Sundays,
while Fridays
are working days, even though in the Moslem belief Friday is the holy
day.
On Fridays those who wish to attend the noon prayer in mosques may leave
their work temporarily and do so. Those who don't, don't.
Official working hours in Turkey are from 09:00 to 17:00, however, this
has started to change some since the first years of the 90s, due to
the change of
job profiles. The Holidays in Turkey are as follows :
Apr
23 National Sovereignty and Children's Day (anniversary
of the establishment of Turkish Grand National Assembly)
May 19 Atatürk Commemoration and Youth
& Sports Day (the arrival of Atatürk
in Samsun, and the beginning of the War of Independence)
Aug 30 Victory Day (victory
over invading forces in 1922)
Oct 29 Republic Day (anniversary of the
declaration of the Turkish Republic)
Seker Bayrami/Sugar Feast :Three-day
festival when sweets are eaten to celebrate the end of the fast of Ramazan.
(A Moslem moveable feast)
(The dates of these religious festivals change according to the Muslim
lunar calendar and thus occur 12 days earlier each year.)
Kurban Bayrami/Slaughter Feast : (A
Moslem moveable feast) Four-day festival when sacrificial sheep
are slaughtered and their meat distributed amongst the poor, neighbors
and within the family.
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