Turkey | Istanbul | Snow Storm

From Antalya I wandered back to Istanbul, where I thought I would stay for a day or two before wandering on. Instead I got caught up in one of the Biggest Snowstorms In Recent Memory. At my hotel there was at least sixteen inches of snow on the ground and reportedly there were 120 centimeters (47 inches) in some parts of the city. All this in a city built on hills (seven of them, like Rome) and not that well equipped for handling snow. Over 800 flights were cancelled in and out of Istanbul’s two airports. This was quite a contrast with Istanbul In January of 2014 when the temperatures reached the low 70s F. and irises were in bloom.
Hagia Sophia in the snow. This was the first morning of the blizzard, when only about six inches of snow had fallen (click on photos for enlargements).
Palm trees taking a beating during the blizzard
Blue Mosque in the distance
For the first time in all my years of coming to Istanbul the famous fish sandwich restaurants near the Galata Bridge were closed.
The fisherman on the Galata Bridge were still out in force. It would take more than a blizzard to drive them off. 
Crampons and iceaxes would have come in handy on the steep streets of Galata, north of the Golden Horn.
View from my hotel
My hotel in Istanbul
 Istanbul’s legendary street dogs were given temporary shelter from the storm at an up-scale mall (not my photo).

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