How the light changes today

Each colour is a stage of the sky, from full night to full daylight and back. The marker is the time in Istanbul right now.

Morning

Astronomical dawn05:54
Nautical dawn06:26
Civil dawn · blue hour06:58
Golden hour begins07:09
Sunrise07:27
Golden hour ends08:05

Solar noon

12:48

Sun 36.8° above the horizon

Evening

Golden hour begins17:31
Sunset18:09
Golden hour ends · blue hour18:27
Civil dusk18:37
Nautical dusk19:10
Astronomical dusk19:41

What do civil, nautical and astronomical twilight mean? Read the guide →

Where the sun rises and sets

Directions from Istanbul today. The shaded fans show how far sunrise and sunset swing between June and December; the dot is the sun right now.

Sunrise at 07:27In June it rises at 57° ENE, in December at 121° ESE105° ESE

Sunset at 18:09In June it sets at 303° WNW, in December at 239° WSW254° WSW

Coming up in Istanbul

Days are getting shorter

−2.6 min a day

Shortest day 21 Dec, in 57 days

First sunset before 18:00

2 Nov

In 8 days · the sun sets at 17:59

Sunrise and sunset on any date

Pick a day of 2026 to see its sunrise, sunset and daylight in Istanbul.

Choose a date

Sunday, 21 June 2026

Sunrise05:32

Sunset20:40

Daylight15 h 8 min

First light (civil dawn): 04:58 · Last light (civil dusk): 21:14
Moon 46% lit

The moon tonight

Full moon

99% lit · 14.0 days old

Moonrise: 17:26
Moonset: 06:28
Full moon: tomorrow
New moon: 9 Nov

Today
99%

Mon
100%

Tue
97%

Wed
92%

Thu
85%

Fri
76%

Sat
65%

Today in Istanbul

Today the sun rises over Istanbul at 07:27 and sets at 18:09, giving 10 h 43 min of daylight.

Across 2026 the day length in Istanbul swings by 5 h 55 min, from 9 h 13 min on 21 December to 15 h 8 min on 21 June.

The earliest sunrise of 2026 falls on 14 June, at 05:31 - not on the longest day, because the equation of time pulls the two apart.

The moon is waxing tonight, 99% lit.

A year of daylight in Istanbul

Every column is one day of 2026, from midnight at the top to midnight at the bottom. Hover or drag across it to read any day.

Longest day

15 h 8 min

21 June

Shortest day

9 h 13 min

21 December

Earliest sunrise

05:31

14 June, not on the longest day

Latest sunset

20:41

27 June

Today Sunrise 07:27 Sunset 18:09 Daylight 10 h 43 min Dark from 19:41

DaylightCivil twilightNautical twilightAstronomical twilightNight

The light in Istanbul, season by season

Through the year

101 days with more than 14 hours of daylight, from 2 May to 10 August.
Earliest sunset of the year: 17:36 on 8 December, 13 days before the shortest day.
Latest sunrise: 08:29 on 4 January, 14 days after the shortest day.

For photographers

Golden hour this evening: 17:31–18:27, with the sun low in the west (253°).
Blue hour right after: 18:27–18:37.
Over the week the evening golden hour moves from 17:31 today to 17:22 on 31 October.
Tomorrow's morning golden hour: 07:10–08:06.

Istanbul compared with other cities

How much daylight each city gets between the shortest and the longest day of 2026.

On 21 June Moscow gets 2 h 26 min more daylight than Istanbul, and on 21 December 2 h 13 min less.

IstanbulThis page

9 h 13 min – 15 h 8 min

Naples1,232 km away

9 h 14 min – 15 h 7 min

Rome1,371 km away

9 h 8 min – 15 h 14 min

Berlin1,736 km away

7 h 39 min – 16 h 50 min

Moscow1,756 km away

7 h 0 min – 17 h 34 min

Each bar runs from the shortest to the longest day of the year.

October 2026 in Istanbul

Sunrise, sunset and day length for every day of the month. The bar shows where the daylight falls in the 24 hours.

Sunrise, sunset and day length for every day of October 2026 in Istanbul, TR.
Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Change
1Thu	07:01	18:47	11 h 46 min	−3 min
2Fri	07:02	18:45	11 h 43 min	−3 min
3Sat	07:03	18:43	11 h 41 min	−2 min
4Sun	07:04	18:42	11 h 38 min	−3 min
5Mon	07:05	18:40	11 h 35 min	−3 min
6Tue	07:06	18:38	11 h 32 min	−3 min
7Wed	07:07	18:37	11 h 30 min	−2 min
8Thu	07:08	18:35	11 h 27 min	−3 min
9Fri	07:09	18:33	11 h 24 min	−3 min
10Sat	07:10	18:32	11 h 22 min	−2 min
11Sun	07:11	18:30	11 h 19 min	−3 min
12Mon	07:12	18:29	11 h 16 min	−3 min
13Tue	07:13	18:27	11 h 14 min	−2 min
14Wed	07:14	18:25	11 h 11 min	−3 min
15Thu	07:15	18:24	11 h 8 min	−3 min
16Fri	07:17	18:22	11 h 6 min	−2 min
17Sat	07:18	18:21	11 h 3 min	−3 min
18Sun	07:19	18:19	11 h 1 min	−2 min
19Mon	07:20	18:18	10 h 58 min	−3 min
20Tue	07:21	18:16	10 h 55 min	−3 min
21Wed	07:22	18:15	10 h 53 min	−2 min
22Thu	07:23	18:14	10 h 50 min	−3 min
23Fri	07:24	18:12	10 h 48 min	−2 min
24Sat	07:25	18:11	10 h 45 min	−3 min
25Sun	07:27	18:09	10 h 43 min	−2 min
26Mon	07:28	18:08	10 h 40 min	−3 min
27Tue	07:29	18:07	10 h 38 min	−2 min
28Wed	07:30	18:05	10 h 35 min	−3 min
29Thu	07:31	18:04	10 h 33 min	−2 min
30Fri	07:32	18:03	10 h 30 min	−3 min
31Sat	07:34	18:01	10 h 28 min	−2 min

Common questions about the sun in Istanbul

What time does the sun rise in Istanbul?

Today the sun rises in Istanbul at 07:27, local time.

What time does the sun set in Istanbul?

Today the sun sets in Istanbul at 18:09, local time.

How long is the day in Istanbul today?

Istanbul gets 10 h 43 min of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset.

When is the longest day of the year in Istanbul?

The longest day of 2026 in Istanbul is 21 June, with 15 h 8 min of daylight.

What phase is the moon in tonight?

The moon is waxing over Istanbul tonight, 99% lit.

Where does the sun rise in Istanbul?

Today it rises in the east (105°). Through the year the sunrise point swings from the north-east (57°) in June to the south-east (121°) in December.

When is golden hour in Istanbul today?

In the morning from 07:09 to 08:05, and in the evening from 17:31 to 18:27.

When is the earliest sunset in Istanbul?

On 8 December, at 17:36. It comes 13 days before the shortest day, which is 21 December.

Cities at the same latitude as Istanbul

At a similar latitude the day lasts almost the same on any date; the clock time of sunrise and sunset still depends on each time zone.

New York City Barcelona Madrid Chicago

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Sunrise and sunset in Istanbul