ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Heavy snow covered the Acropolis and other ancient monuments in Athens and stopped COVID-19 vaccinations in the Greek capital on Tuesday as the weather stopped many services across the country.
As Western Europe took a break from winter weather, temperatures dropped in the southeast of the continent and winter storms hit Turkey as well.
Snow, an unusual sight in Athens, a city of more than 3 million people, has also shut down most public transport services, while the overturned trees have caused disruptions in several mountain suburbs.
Snow is common in the mountains of Greece and in the north of the country, but much less often in the capital. Some Athenians cautiously went outside, taking pictures on balconies and streets.
The snow has arrived while Athens and several other parts of Greece remain blocked to reduce coronavirus infections. Schools and most shops are closed, and residents must stay indoors during a night out.
Some children skipped online classes on Tuesday to play in the snow. Adults also went out to play, with some skis dug to use on the hilly slopes of the capital. A man skied along the Pnyx Hill in central Athens, near the Acropolis.
Norwegian Ambassador Frode Overland Andersen wrote a video about himself on Twitter, skiing on a hill in the suburbs of Philothea with his teenage daughter.
“The challenge was accepted,” he wrote after a friend in Oslo challenged him to prove that it was really possible to ski in Athens.
“It was the best day at my home office during closing so far,” the ambassador told The Associated Press. “Unfortunately, my skis had a pretty hard time, so I’ll be in wax and get ready for next season.”
Outside the parliament building, orange snow plows cleared the streets of ice and snow, while the presidential guards, dressed in traditional pleated chests and pump-top shoes, were given heavy wool coats.
The cold weather, which has already caused snowstorms in much of Europe, kept temperatures around freezing in Athens on Tuesday, but was expected to rise sharply to 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit) expected on Thursday. In neighboring Turkey, heavy snow and blizzards forced the closure of a highway in northwestern Turkey. About 600 vehicles were blocked on a nine-kilometer (six-mile) stretch of snow-covered road, and another 800 vehicles were blocked elsewhere, state news agency Anadolu reported.
Sections on Greece’s main highway were also closed on Tuesday, and most ferry services to the islands were canceled, while flights from regional airports to Athens were cut off.
Greek Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis said the service had received more than 600 calls for assistance in Greater Athens.
“The calls mainly concerned felled trees and transporting people trapped in their vehicles to a safe place, but also transporting renal dialysis patients for treatment,” he told state television.
“Vaccinations have been postponed, but we have helped transport doctors and medical staff where needed and we have helped electricity technicians reach damaged electricity poles in areas where access has been difficult,” Vathrakoyiannis said.
Energy and water cuts have also been reported in central Greece. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with emergency response leaders to help residents of blackened areas and snow-cut villages.
“Obviously, we recommend paying close attention to all movements, all unnecessary movements should be avoided,” Mitsotakis said after the meeting, adding that the authorities are doing everything they can to keep roads open and restore electricity in areas. without electricity.
“I think we will all be patient as we face a truly unprecedented phenomenon,” he added. ___ Watch Becatoros at https://twitter.com/ElenaBec and Gatopoulos at https://twitter.com/dgatopoulos ___ Suzan Fraser from Ankara, Turkey and Thanassis Stavrakis, Petros Giannakouris and Srdjan Nedeljkovic from Athens contributed.