Residents fill snow into wells to cool off in summer

KAYSERİ

Nearly 300 wells with a history of hundreds of years in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri have been filled with snow brought from the skirts of Mountain Erciyes in order to provide residents cold water in summer.

The ancient tradition in the city’s Hacılar district has been going on for nearly 400 years, and residents bring snow from the majestic mountain months in advance to reach the cold water during the scorching summer heat.

Filled with tons of snow brought in sacks by residents on the weekend, approximately seven-meter-depth wells were closed once more this year not to be opened until the summer season.

The water obtained by partially melting the snow in the wells, which is used as a kind of refrigerator, is used for drinking after being drawn with buckets so that residents cool off at temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius in summer.

“This year, we continue the tradition of pouring snow into the wells that we learned from our ancestors. This tradition will live on in our future generations,” said Mahmut Gengeç, a local.