Thousands stranded as snow silences Istanbul

These were the chaotic scenes at Istanbul Airport on Monday (January 24) as heavy snowfall brought its operation to a halt.

Flights were suspended for a second day on Tuesday (January 25) at Europe's largest airport.

Many stranded passengers are waiting to board their aircraft after spending the night on the floor.

Selim Kilik was one of them:

"We have been here for more than 24 hours already. We were suppose to travel to Paris but we weren't given any information. Nobody from the airport gave us any information. Our flights were somehow changed to tomorrow - which is today -, with a little bit of confusion and dispute."

Snowfall began across the country late last week and picked up in recent days.

In a rare move, Istanbul's governor banned private cars from city streets on Tuesday as emergency teams cleaned up.

And many public workers were granted leave to keep commutes to a minimum.

Vehicles were seen stranded across the city.

Okan Tanis, who filmed this footage, told Reuters he had been stuck on the road for three hours when he decided to walk back - a journey which took him another three hours.

Authorities called on Turks to clear snow in front of their homes and shops to help emergency teams.

In Turkey's south, snow fell on the beaches of the resort city of Antalya for the first time in 29 years.

Across the country some 4,600 people were left stranded on roads and elsewhere, and thousands had been placed in temporary housing, according to authorities.