Istanbul grinds to a halt in ‘Icelandic’ snowy conditions

Couriers skirted a ban on motorbikes on the icy roads

Snow blanketed most of Istanbul on Monday and flurries are forecast to continue for the next few days. Turkey’s largest city is a metropolis of about 16 million people that bridges Europe and Asia. AP

Tourist boats dock in the Golden Horn with Suleymaniye Mosque in the background. AP

People fish in the snow on Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn waterway. AP

People walk in the snow beside the Golden Horn. AP

Sultanahmet Square and Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque were dusted with snow. Reuters

Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, was covered in snow. AP

Tourists walk in Sultanahmet Square. Reuters

Tourists walk in Sultanahmet Square. Reuters

Clouds gathered over Sultan Ahmed Mosque. AP

A woman enjoys the snowy day. Reuters

Snow-covered houses in the Gulsuyu district. The disaster co-ordination centre of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality said the cold spell that began on January 21 was expected to continue for much of the week. EPA

Istanbul was largely cut off on Monday as heavy snowfall led to travel chaos.

Motorways into the Turkish city were closed and flights cancelled owing to conditions described as “Icelandic”.

As roads were turned to ice-clogged arteries, the governor’s office cancelled some bus services and barred the city’s ubiquitous motorbike couriers from the streets. But with an economic crisis as severe as the weather, many delivery riders ignored the prohibition and braved the snow.

“I’ve got to work, otherwise I don’t get paid and my family suffers,” said one worker delivering food to an office in Kadikoy, on the city’s Asian side.

“I’m trying to be extra-careful and drive slowly because the roads are very dangerous.”

Governor Ali Yerlikaya called on citizens to report companies flouting the ban for “disregarding the lives of not only motor-couriers but also our fellow countrymen”.

All main routes into Istanbul from the north were closed owing to heavy snowfall, Mr Yerlikaya said. The D-100 highway that links Istanbul and Ankara reopened on Monday after being closed overnight, but other routes leading from the south were mostly closed.

Provincial authorities to the north of Istanbul said vehicles would not be allowed to travel south until further notice.

Throughout the city of 16 million people, commuters huddling inside hoods and scarves queued at bus stops after public-sector workers were sent home early.

But the treacherous conditions meant few buses were arriving regularly, leading to large numbers of desperate travellers waiting at bus, metro and tram stops as the evening approached.

“There is nothing we can do. It snows, the roads are affected, the traffic is blocked and cars are stuck on the road,” Ali Safa, waiting at a bus stop in Bahcelievler, on the European side, told Demiroren news agency.

“People set out without winter tires, knowing that it will snow, and have an accident. They prevent others from reaching the road.”

Pile-ups caused by blizzard conditions led to road closures during rush hour. A 50-vehicle accident on the North Marmara highway, which skirts Istanbul’s European suburbs, led to jams stretching for miles.

Three people were killed and 18 were injured when an inter-city coach rolled down a 30-metre embankment in snowy weather on the motorway on Sunday.

Many drivers complained of a lack of information and said they feared they could be stuck in freezing conditions without food or water.

Images shared on Twitter of motorists trying to negotiate some of Istanbul’s hillier backstreets showed cars skidding out of control and crashing into walls and other vehicles.

An artist paints as snow falls near of the Suleymaniye mosque in Istanbul. AFP

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said crews were working to clear the roads. “We have 7,421 personnel and 1,582 vehicles to intervene in the situation,” he said. Homeless people were being directed to emergency accommodation and food was distributed to the city’s army of stray cats and dogs.

Local media also showed footage of people waiting in the snowfall to buy cheap bread at a municipality-run kiosk. Shopping malls were closed 2.5 hours early.

Meteorologist Orhan Sen said the temperature was -8°C and 20 centimetres of snow had fallen on the ground. The bad weather was brought in from the Black Sea, resulting in Istanbul’s European districts experiencing the worst.

The bad weather is expected to persist until Thursday.

Prof Sen warned people not to stay outside for long periods:

“If we stay a little too long, we’ll get hypothermia,” he said.

“If the body temperature drops below 26 degrees, it will be difficult to stay alive. That’s why we shouldn’t stay outside.”

At Istanbul Airport, opened less than three years ago, the roof of a cargo terminal collapsed under the weight of snow. Spokesman Yahya Ustun said nobody had been hurt.

Turkish Airlines announced the cancellation of all flights until 4am Turkish time on Tuesday. At the city’s second airport, Sabiha Gokcen, authorities said there would be a 15 per cent reduction in flights on Tuesday.

The national carrier had earlier announced the cancellation of 36 domestic and international flights from Istanbul Airport.

Ali Kidik, an Istanbul municipality assembly member, tweeted from an aborted flight to the southern city of Adana. He said passengers had been “left to their fate” for seven hours.

Universities were closed for two days because of the weather. Schools shut last week for a scheduled break.

Wild weather across the Middle East - in pictures

A snow-clad village in the Chouf district of Mount Lebanon governorate, about 52km south-east of Beirut. AFP

Cedar trees are blanketed in snow in Lebanon. AFP

A man walks in the snow in Erbil, Iraq. AP Photo

Snow fills the air in Erbil. AP Photo

Israel's border with Syria is covered with snow, near the Druze town of Masada. AFP

Syrians drive their cars on a street as snow falls over Damascus. AFP

A child removes snow from the top of a tent at a camp for internally displaced people in the northern Aleppo countryside, Syria. Reuters

A child stands in the snow in Salat Zagrous, a camp for internally displaced people, in northern Syria. EPA

A camp for internally displaced people in the town of Raju in the rebel-controlled northern countryside of Syria's Aleppo province. AFP

Children at a camp for internally displaced people in Raju have fun in the snow. AFP

A windy day in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

Reindeer in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights. AFP

The Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. AFP

The Roman ruins at Baalbek in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. AFP

Snow-covered houses in the town of Sohmor, western Bekaa, Lebanon. Reuters

Amadiyah, a town built 1,400 metres above sea level and located about 75km north of the city of Dohuk, in the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region. AFP

Snow-covered mountains around the town of Amadiyah. AFP

Iraqi Kurds perform a traditional dance near Safin Mountain, close to the city of Irbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdish autonomous region. AFP

Israeli armored corps soldiers, fix their tank chains during snowstorm near the Israel-Syrian border in the annexed Golan Heights, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams. EPA

Children slide on the snow at the Kucukcekmece district in Istanbul. AFP

A child plays with a cat in a snowy park near of the Suleymaniye mosque in Istanbul. AFP

A young Syrian boy clears the snow covering a tent at a camp for internally displaced people, near the city of Jisr al-Shugur on the border with Turkey, in the Idlib governorate of northwestern Syria. AFP