Istanbul's traffic jams reach new levels with papal visit
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 30, 2006 10:43
In a city already known for its sometimes impossible traffic jams, Istanbul is bearing the full brunt of the papal visit this week. Pope Benedict XVI arrived yesterday in Istanbul, after leading a mass at Selcuk's Church of the Virgin Mary, and prior to his arrival, certain critical roads around areas where he will be going were closed, leading to enormous traffic stoppages, and many complaints from citizens.
Haberin Devamı
Due to the closure of the seaside Kennedy Boulevard, which runs along the Marmara Sea, all seabus and ferryboat traffic has stopped today in the afternoon hours, between 16.00-21.00 hours.
In addition, with the Pope headed to the Vatican's Istanbul residence, which is located in Harbiye, near Taksim, the Aksaray-Unkapani-Taksim roads as well as Halaskargazi Boulevard between Taksim and Osmanbey has been shut down to allow only traffic in one direction. Due to these alterations in routes, traffic yesterday was blocked in major city centers such as Caglayan-Mecideyekoy-Levent-Besiktas. The traffic jams are expected to continue through tomorrow, when the Pope leaves Istanbul for Italy.