If it is going to be cold, let it snow I say. At least the place will be pretty. This works well enough in average English new towns but in Istanbul the effect is to add a magnitude of drama to an already dramatic city.
Though our current location is both several degrees longitude and Celsius away from Istanbul, the city was to be our backpacker training camp. It had been 18 months since we last strapped on too big bags to our backs and tramping around in the snow, getting lost and arguing whose fault it was provided some practice grounding for the coming months.
We knew it was going to be cold and had to pack accordingly while bearing in mind we would have to lug those three days’ worth of cold weather clothing around the tropics for the next six months. We each chose a different tactic. Deirdre took a winter coat while I went for the layer option: a thin jumper, a thicker jumper and a hoodie, any of which might come in useful should we ascend in to the mountains in Thailand, Cambodia or Myanmar. Inle Lake is said to get cold in the evenings so perhaps we won’t be carrying pointless pounds around all trip.
As the pictures below show the thicker clothing was needed to help protect us from the elements as we wandered around the city revisiting scenes from a past trip to Istanbul; the extra element of a layer of snow helping to diversify our portfolio of Istanbul photography.
Though Istanbul isn’t unused to snow, the depth and length of the snowstorm was unusual and even the older residents of the city reacted with a delight to match any seven year old English boy, far more used to such things and at an earlier age. They threw it, lay in it, built snowmen on their shop stalls, let it land on their tongues and even ate the stuff.
During our time in Istanbul we remained nice and cosy in I’zaz Lofts.
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