Time in Istanbul
It is 05:27 on Thursday, 17 September 2026 in Istanbul. Istanbul is in Turkey. Civil time uses the IANA zone Europe/Istanbul at +03:00 from UTC (not in effect). Use the live clock below for the current local time, then jump to a difference or conversion when you need meeting math.
Istanbul uses Europe/Istanbul at UTC+03:00 year-round. Turkey stopped seasonal clock changes in 2016, staying on what was formerly summer time.
Business hours commonly run about 09:00–18:00. Europe’s morning overlaps Istanbul’s morning; New York mornings arrive in the Istanbul afternoon.
Turkey’s “permanent summer time” is UTC+03:00, closer to Moscow than to EU winter time. Europe/Istanbul is the id; EET/EEST abbreviations are misleading here.
Istanbul time zone
- UTC offset
- UTC+03:00
- IANA
- Europe/Istanbul
- DST
- not in effect
Daylight saving in Istanbul
Istanbul is currently on its standard offset. Istanbul does not change its clocks. The offset stays +03:00 all year, so the gap to other cities only moves when the other side changes.
Daylight in Istanbul today
The sun rises at 06:46 and sets at 19:10, giving 12 h 24 m of daylight. Solar noon falls at 12:58, 59 minutes after the clock reads twelve, because Istanbul sits west of the 45° E meridian its current offset is built on.
- Sunrise
- 06:46
- Sunset
- 19:10
- Daylight
- 12 h 24 m
- Solar noon
- 12:58Solar noon is when the sun sits highest in the sky. It drifts from clock noon across a time zone, which is why one clock can span very different days.
Best time to call Istanbul
Overlap between a 09:00–17:00 working day in Istanbul and the same hours in other major cities.
Popular time differences
Related guides
About Istanbul
- Population
- 15,655,924The administrative city figure recorded by Wikidata. The surrounding urban area is larger.
- Coordinates
- 41.0100° N, 28.9603° ELatitude is what drives the sunrise and sunset times above.
- Currency
- Turkish Lira (TRY)
- Calling code
- +90Dial this after your international access prefix, and check the overlap table above before you call.
- Languages
- Turkish
- Airports
- ISTIstanbul AirportSAWSabiha Gökçen InternationalArrival and departure boards at these airports quote Istanbul local time, not the time where you booked.
Frequently asked questions about time in Istanbul
- What time is it in Istanbul right now?
- It is 05:27 in Istanbul as this page was generated, and the clock above keeps ticking in your browser. Istanbul uses the IANA zone Europe/Istanbul, currently +03:00.
- Which time zone is Istanbul in?
- Istanbul uses Europe/Istanbul, which is currently +03:00. Always store the identifier rather than the offset — the offset changes with daylight saving, the identifier does not.
- Does Istanbul observe daylight saving time?
- No. Istanbul stays on +03:00 all year. Any change in the gap to another city comes from that city changing its own clocks.
- Is Istanbul ahead of or behind UTC?
- Istanbul is currently at +03:00. When it is 12:00 UTC, the local time in Istanbul is 15:00.
Well-known places in Istanbul
If you are checking the time in Istanbul because you are heading there, these are the most widely documented places to see.
- Hagia SophiaRead more on Wikipedia
- Sultan Ahmed MosqueRead more on Wikipedia
- Topkapı PalaceRead more on Wikipedia