ANKARA, Nov 22 (AFP) - Turkey was in the grip Monday of snow and rain storms that snarled intercity and urban traffic, blocked off remote villages in the north and east and flooded homes in the south of the country.
Cold weather came late but with a vengeance as people who only last week were dining al fresco in the major cities of Istanbul and Ankara and swimming and sunbathing on the western and southern coasts bundled up as temperatures suddenly dropped by 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.
Snow began falling in Istanbul late Sunday, causing huge traffic jams Monday morning, leaving motorists trapped on the two bridges linking the Asian and European sides of the city of 12 million.
Traffic was at a near a standstill on major arteries in Istanbul and in the capital Ankara, where the snowfall that began Saturday has been continuing almost non-stop since.
Officials reported about 300 village roads snowed in countrywide, and about 100 homes flooded in the southern city of Adana.
Heavy fogs and snow on Mount Bolu, the halfway point on the busy highway linking Ankara and Istanbul, resulted in at least 21 accidents in which 53 people were hurt, television channels reported.
Ferryboat services between Tasucu and northern Cyprus were cancelled for the second day running because of heavy storms and some 1,500 passengers were lodged in the small southern town, waiting for the weather to clear, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Meteorologists forecast a day of respite Tuesday as southerly winds bring some warmth, but said temperatures will plummet again as fresh snowstorms arrive from Wednesday.
11/22/2004 10:23 GMT - AFP