The Winds of Istanbul, Turkey

Maya Johnson
Feb 13, 2021
4 min read

‘No seasons in Istanbul, but a never ending struggle between the northerly (Poyraz) and southerly (Lodos) winds.’ Tanpınar

Mehri Petek - 1930s Kadikoy-Moda in Istanbul, Turkey

When I first started living in Turkey, it was in Izmir. I had come from the Caribbean heat of Mexico, in mid-August 2005. I was used to going barefoot with skimpy attire everywhere I went as it was always summer season if not raining in Tulum, Mexico.

Besides the conservative and unfamiliar glances, there were a variety of customs I was to get used to. Locals tucking in the back of my daughter’s shirt so her kidneys and lower back weren’t exposed, being told to never sit on stone or walk barefooted, and local ladies insisting the wind would make them sick if it blew on them in the sweltering and congested heat of the ‘dolmuş’ or minibus in the middle of summer.

Later, when I moved to Istanbul in 2017, I heard mentions of Lodos & Poyraz. If I had a headache, the Lodos wind was to blame. If I felt depressive, a friend quickly searched the direction of the winds from their phones. It made me curious and I looked into it more. Now, after having lived in Turkey for fifteen years, and in Istanbul for the majority of the time I find myself waking up to some unfamiliar or foreign feeling staining my mornings and moods. So where do the names of Poyraz and Lodos originate?

Lodos, which comes from the Greek word ‘Notus’ denotes ‘north’ while Poyraz comes from the Greek word ‘boreas’, originating from the Four Wind Gods. ‘The Anemoi are the titan-gods of the four winds and the four seasons, sons of Eos and Astraeus — namely Boreas, Zephyros, Notus, and Eurus. Although they are lords of their own winds, they all serve Aeolus.’ (5)

Boreas, the Greek god of winter, and the god of the North Wind and Notus was the Greek god of the south wind. Notus is the god of the South or Southwest winds, which are a very warm and moist wind, bringing with it fog and rain. He was the son of Eos and Astraeus (or according to some, of Aeolus) and brother to Zephyrus, Boreas and Eurus. While Boreas is the god of the North Wind who lived in Thrace. Sometimes being said to have serpent tails for free, he blows through a conch with amber colored wings. (6)

As I looked into it more, there was quite a long history of these infamous winds of Istanbul. Now that it’s February, here’s another quote regarding weather in Istanbul. Generally, these two winds also determine the seasons of Istanbul. Lodos causes the temperature to rise. Poyraz eases the heat of summer. That's why the ancients used to say, "Lodos came from hell, and the northerly from heaven." Old Istanbulites also say that Istanbul has two seasons, not four, because of the south and north. Actually, Istanbul is a city that can experience these two seasons together at all times. (4)

"Istanbul will rip out one's lungs in February." I continued with a soft voice. “You feel cold for days and nights, and you feel like you are always wet. Everything you touch is wet. The air turns from northeastern, to a southwest wind. The sea is wavy, the days are dark ... " “İstanbul şubat ayında insanın ciğerini söker.” Yumuşak bir sesle devam ettim. “Günlerce, gecelerce yağan yağmurdan için üşür, sürekli ıslakmış gibi hissedersin. Elini sürdüğün her şey ıslaktır sanki. Hava bir poyraz olur, bir lodos. Deniz dalgalı, günler karanlık...” Zülfü Livaneli / Serenade

During the Byzantine period, the courts were canceled when the southwestern winds blew. (4)

In the Ottoman period, the judges did pass judgements on the cases in courts when the southwesternly winds blew.

Nowadays, it is thought that traffic accidents, theft, heart attacks, asthma attacks, preterm births and suicides increase on the days when the southwesterly winds blow. (1)

For a long time, it is believed that wind has effects on people such as headache, weakness, shortness of breath and eye bleeding. For example, Hippocrates, who lived in Kos Island, stated in his book "Weather, Waters and Regions" that weather, season and climate changes cause physical and mental disorders. Hippocrates advised doctors to examine the environmental conditions of the place he went to, such as wind, season and day length. Hippocrates also applied the "air change" method in the treatment of mental illnesses. (1)

The Lodos winds bring desert winds from the Sahara that equate to around 2 tons yearly! (3) As a result, it is said that Lodos carries with it a blanket which covers our pyschology. The circulation of desert dust in the air causes an increase of positive ions in the air which affect human pyschology and can even cause unhappiness as it causes a decrease in happiness-giving hormones in the brain. According to some doctors, all the desert dust causes itchy eyes, migraines and a host of other not so enjoyable symptoms. (10).

Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna, the famous Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the greats of the Islamic Golden age also stated that diseases are caused by the things eaten and drunk, age, city and climate.

Later, Ibn Khaldun, the Arab scholar and philosopher also divided the world into seven climatic zones and claimed that great civilizations emerged in temperate climates. In recent years, biological and psychological disturbances caused by meteorological events have been discussed as seasonal and meteotropic diseases. (1)

What do you know about the psychological and biological disturbances arising from meteorological events? Did you believe or were you aware of such? Long period of darkness and depression was something I had heard about previously with regards to the Northern Hemisphere, however, other than that and varying menstruation according to proximity to the equator. However, it isn’t a far-fetched idea for me. With so many interested in astrology, if not the moon, then the planet Earth and all its elements could also share a hand in how we feel when the circumstances don’t match the feeling on the inside.

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