Clock Towers of Türkiye

One historic clock tower from each province. Most were built during the reign of Abdülhamid II, many around 1901, the 25th anniversary of his accession, after a decree sent to the provincial governors. They mark the move from alaturka time, reckoned from sunset, to European clock time, and the presence of the state in the provinces.

The towers

The "Photos" link opens the tower's photo category on Wikimedia Commons, where most photos are freely licensed. Towers with a single photo on Commons link straight to it; those with none are marked "No photo". The Hamidiye tag marks towers that sources say were built on Abdülhamid II's order or for an anniversary of his accession.

ProvinceTowerBuiltHistorical value and meaningStateImages

Towers without a photo

These towers are on the list but have no photos on Wikimedia Commons. For four of them, the sources linked below have photos.

    Provinces not on the list

    In the provinces below, either the tower's construction date could not be confirmed by a reliable source, the historic tower has been lost, or there is only a modern tower built after 1950.

    Tower exists, date not confirmed

    • Düzce: Düzce Clock Tower; neither the year nor the builder could be found.
    • Karaman: Karaman Clock Tower; the year could not be confirmed.
    • Nevşehir: Ürgüp Clock Tower is called "historic", but the year could not be confirmed.
    • Mardin: the tower in Republic Square; the year could not be confirmed. The tower in Midyat is recent.
    • Sakarya: the old TZDK factory chimney in Kent Park was turned into a clock tower; the chimney's date is unclear.

    Historic tower lost

    • Tekirdağ: the 19th-century tower beside the Rüstem Paşa Mosque was left in ruins by the 1912 Mürefte earthquake and demolished.
    • Kırklareli: the timber clock tower on the Zindan Baba Tomb has not survived.
    • Kars: the old clock tower in the city centre was demolished in the 1960s.
    • Konya: the historic tower in the centre was demolished; today's tower dates from 1987.

    No historic tower found, or only a modern one

    The clocks of the modern tower in Adıyaman were left at 04:17, the moment of the 6 February 2023 earthquake, and are kept as a memorial. For these provinces, "not found" means the sources have no record, not that there is certainly no tower.