Snow in Istanbul

The snow we had this month is not a very rare thing for Istanbul. In past centuries, history tells us, there were snowfalls heavier than what we saw last week. The oldest writing we have about harsh winters is from the time of the emperor Arcadius, son of Theodosius, who built the walls in the fifth century that are still there: the shores of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus turned to ice.

In the year 763 the whole Golden Horn and the whole Bosphorus filled with blocks of ice that came from the Black Sea. It was written that the ice was nearly 30 centimetres thick. It is even said that people crossed the Bosphorus from one side to the other on these blocks. This event was repeated many times during past centuries. In 1954 we had the same thing, and I too, who was a teenager, remember having walked on the ice. In 1621 the cold was so strong that the water froze in the public fountains, where everyone went with buckets to fill water, and the sakas who brought drinking water could not go out for that reason. Those who did not have enough water in the jars of their homes suffered greatly from lack of water, and the people of Istanbul from lack of bread and other foodstuffs.

In past years, when the winter was very harsh, we heard that wolves and wild boars came very close to the centre of the city and people were afraid to go out at night. The only ones who were happy were the children, who played in the snow and did not go to school. There were winters when the schools closed for nearly three weeks.

We are lucky that in Istanbul we live the four seasons like Vivaldi's music, even though we complain of both cold and heat.

This makes us think that man must struggle with nature and appreciate its changes. That is how the rebirth of nature can be celebrated. When man feels this change he also appreciates his humility before Creation.