ISTANBUL — “You are free to throw snowballs at this window,” the signs say in the Kadikoy district on the Asian side of Istanbul, and not because the shopkeepers here love the sound of breaking glass.
It is all about a freak snowstorm, a quick temper, a deadly encounter and — inevitably — politics.
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“Even something as pure as snow becomes tainted by Turkish politics,” said Husnu Tuncer, a hairdresser. “But we’ll keep coming out and playing in it until it melts, in solidarity with our brother Nuh Koklu.”
A version of this article appears in print on February 20, 2015, on page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: In Turkey, Even Snow Can Be Tainted by Politics . Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
