By Karya Naz Balkiz
The past few winters have been uneventful for Istanbul. Aside from fleeting light snow showers and the usual traffic jams due to bad weather, the city’s signature winter magic had been missing. Until Wednesday.
Snowfall started early in the day, and within a few hours, the landscape was carpeted with a white sheet. By afternoon, authorities announced that schools would be closed on Thursday amid warnings of icing on the roads.
The snowfall is a big deal for parents like Gul Ece Cakmak, a mother of two, who hurried to pick her daughters up from preschool before the snow intensified.
“They were squealing with joy the entire ride home, watching the snowflakes swirl against the windows,” she says.
For her 6-year-old daughter Duru, building a snowman is the highlight of winter.
“The snow is cold when it touches my face. But I build the snowman with mittens on, so I don't get too cold,” she tells TRT World.
For 2-year-old Bade, this snowfall is a milestone — her very first.
“The past week’s snow was fleeting, so we couldn’t tell the difference. But this time, I loved seeing her little nose turn red as she looked up at the snowflakes falling on her face,” Cakmak says about Bade.
Though Bade can’t fully express herself yet, she has been repeating one word over and over: “Kar” — Turkish for snow.
Flights cancelled, transport disrupted
While the children rejoiced over their “snow holiday”, traffic congestion in Istanbul surged to unprecedented levels by Wednesday evening, with commutes taking several hours longer than usual.
As roads were blocked and buses delayed, long queues of commuters formed along the sides of the roads, as people took careful steps to walk towards their homes.
Meanwhile, Istanbul’s two main airports have reduced the number of flights it wants to handle. Turkish Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, is expected to cancel around 200 flights.
As a snow curtain descended on the Istanbul Strait, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure announced that ferry traffic in both directions was being suspended due to limited visibility.
Fatma Korunoglu, an Istanbul resident, says the snow was so heavy that she couldn’t see the July 15 Martyrs Bridge while passing over it on the Metrobus.
For her, the snowfall is a long-overdue delight after years of mild winters. She insists that the snow energises people, making them forget their every day worries.
“Walking around Istanbul, I noticed something… a sense of joy on people’s faces, even on public transportation,” she tells TRT World, adding that some families had already stepped outside to make the most of the accumulating snow on Wednesday evening.
According to the Meteorological General Directorate, snowfall will cover the entire city on Thursday and continue intermittently until later on Monday.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul has urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel, refrain from using private vehicles without snow tires, and rely on public transport where possible.
Coastal areas are expected to see 5 to 10 cm of snowfall, while inland regions brace for heavier blizzards, which could bring 10 to 20 cm or more by Friday and Saturday. In northern and high-altitude areas, snow depths could even exceed 40 cm.
Temperatures in Istanbul are expected to drop between 0 and 2°C until February 22, with lows dipping to -1 to -2°C, meteorologists say.
Snowfall is also affecting the Black Sea region, where temperatures are expected to drop significantly across several cities. The capital, Ankara, and other cities in the Anatolian heartland are also experiencing flurries.
A rare winter wonderland
Some of the most notable heavy snowfalls in Istanbul occurred in 1987, 2004, 2017, and 2022.
Korunoglu, originally from Mersin, a Mediterranean city where snow is rare, appreciates Istanbul’s winter charm.
"In Mersin, parents take their children to the Taurus Mountains just to see the snow," she says.
Based on her time in Istanbul, she’s come to believe that snow brings people together in a playful spirit.
"When it snows, everyone wants to be outside, no matter how cold or how late. Even at 1 am, you’ll see people outside, enjoying it."
On snowy days, she makes sure to stop by the Strait to witness a sight Istanbulites know well.
“The sea always shimmers in a beautiful green when it snows.”
