Sporadic snowfall that began on Wednesday in Istanbul continued well into the weekend. On Sunday, the precipitation was limited but still disrupted daily life while the forecast shows the ordeal will end on Monday.
Weekend traffic was reduced in Turkey’s most populated city, Istanbul, and unlike Friday, accidents and traffic jams were less common. After heavy snowfall in January brought life to a grinding halt in the city, authorities and the public were more cautious this time. Motorists heeded repeated warnings and didn't hit the road, keeping the roads clear. Municipality and highway authority crews were stationed on main roads, constantly plowing the snow and pouring salt on the icy roads.
Dubbed by some experts as “worst snowfall” before the first precipitation hit, four days of snowfall did little to disrupt the life this time, though a white blanket covered the city, from the Asian side to the European. Traffic was slowed down in parts of the D-100 highway on Saturday, especially on the city’s Asian side, including Kadıköy, Üsküdar and Ataşehir, as some drivers abandoned their cars.
Still, adverse weather kept the Bosporus, the city’s main waterway, closed due to very low visibility while Turkish Airlines (THY) canceled 279 flights on Sunday to and from Istanbul Airport on the European side and Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Asian side. Temperatures also fluctuated slightly above zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) at times.
In January, hundreds of people were stranded on roads when an unprecedented snowfall gripped the city. Motorists and passengers had to abandon their vehicles or took shelter in the nearest indoor places when the traffic came to a halt on the city's main highways – the E-5 and TransEuropean Motorway (TEM).
People had complained about the lack of efforts to keep the roads clear. However, this time, not to repeat the January chaos, most drivers turned to mass transit while Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) and the public agencies in charge of roads deployed snow plows and hundreds of crews across the city early on.
As the snowfall slowed down, people found the opportunity to play in the snow – building snowmen and engaging in snowball fights. However, one such snowball fight turned violent at Tophane Park in the city’s Beyoğlu district. A group of some 50 people hurling snowballs at each other turned into a brawl for an unknown reason on Saturday night. One of them took out his gun and fired at others. Six people were slightly injured while the suspect and four others were detained by police.
Fatih Işık, who made the headlines by skiing down a snowy street in the city’s Avcılar district during January’s cold spell, emerged this time in other districts of the city. The physical education teacher skied through the narrow, steep streets leading to the seaside from the historic Galata quarter, against the backdrop of the quarter’s eponymous tower, a popular Istanbul landmark. “I skied in front of Istanbul’s most beautiful landscapes,” he shared his videos on his social media accounts.
Some preferred to swim in the freezing waters of Bosporus amid snowfall. Around 15 swimmers jumped into the sea from the coast of Fatih on Sunday while another 10 swimmers swam along the Kuzguncuk coast on the city's Asian side. Snowfall had stopped when they swam but the men, mostly elderly swimmers, lay half-naked on the snow-covered coast after the swim. "We do this throughout the year. We don't feel cold," Vehbi Kızılgedik, one of the swimmers, told Demirören News Agency near the spot they swam in Fatih, in front of the city's ancient walls. "We recommend it to everyone. This is like a medicine for all diseases," Hasan Güzel, one of the swimmers in Kuzguncuk said.
