05.01.2026 09:50
Erzurum is experiencing the coldest days of winter these days. During the winter months, when the cold negatively affects all aspects of life, it is quite difficult to bury the deceased. In Erzurum, to avoid difficulties in funeral processes due to the frozen ground in winter, grave sites are opened during the summer months.
In Erzurum, where the temperature sometimes drops to as low as minus 30 degrees, hundreds of graves have been prepared for winter. The Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality Cemetery Department has opened nearly 2,000 graves as part of winter preparations.
GRAVES WERE DUG IN THE SUMMER MONTHS
In Erzurum, hundreds of graves in the central Asri Cemetery and Abdurrahman Gazi Cemetery were opened with the help of heavy machinery and personnel before winter arrived. Due to heavy snowfall and especially the freezing of the ground, it becomes almost impossible to open grave sites during the winter months. For this reason, officials prepare for winter during the summer months and prepare the pits for burial.
"WINTER CONDITIONS ARE VERY HARSH"
Salim Uğurlu, who works at the Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality Cemetery Department, stated that although the grave pits are ready from summer, they still work again before the burial and make preparations, saying, "Conditions are tough during these months. In winter, it freezes, making it very difficult to open graves, which is why we prepare in the summer months. This year, we opened approximately 2,000 grave sites. It is not possible to open them in winter. Despite the pits being opened in advance, we still come and work before the burial. Our job is quite difficult. We are opening enough grave sites."