Heavy snow hits Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul

Heavy snowfall hit Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul on Monday, shutting shopping malls, disrupting traffic, and closing a mega-airport, Anadolu News Agency reports.

After landing in the city early in the morning, heavy snowfall caused traffic jams in the city’s working-class districts of Zeytinburnu, Bahcelievler, Sariyer and Kagithane on the European side.

Some passengers, as well as vehicles, were stuck due to heavy snow.

In Pendik on the city’s Asian side, a fire truck trying to rescue a vehicle got stuck on the road itself.

Most schools were already closed on Monday for a two-week semester break.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality said in a statement that 1,300 homeless people had been given shelter from the frigid weather in various buildings and hotels.

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Every day, the municipality is also distributing more than two tons of food at 500 locations for stray animals, the statement added.

Istanbul Governor, Ali Yerlikaya, said that due to heavy snowfall, routes from north-western Turkey to Istanbul are closed until further notice.

Yerlikaya also announced that shopping malls in the city will close at 7:30 p.m., local time.

Turkey’s major international aviation hub, Istanbul Airport, also shut down to flights on Monday due to the snowfall.