Winter preparation in the cemetery; graves are dug before the ground freezes
In Erzurum, where the temperature drops to 30 degrees below zero in winter, hundreds of 'winter graves' were dug with construction equipment before the snow fell. Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Sekmen said that due to the snow reaching 1 meter and the freezing of the ground in the severe cold, they dig graves every year before winter comes.
800 graves were dug with construction equipment in the Abdurrahman Gazi and Asri Cemetery in Erzurum. Municipal workers also organized the graves with picks and shovels. Stating that in the Erzurum where the Siberian cold is experienced, the frozen ground in winter is like rock, Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Sekmen said the followings:
“This is a city where it snows, it is very difficult to dig graves in winter. For this reason, it is a great convenience for us to prepare burial places in the fall. Because from time to time, there are periods of excessive snowfall and freezing. The ground freezes, and it is very difficult to dig. That's why we dig a certain amount of burial places in the fall and make them ready for the winter. Death is not something we can control, those whose time and hour have come will definitely be buried. We want no one to die but life comes and stops for a moment. This duty must be fulfilled. In addition, when the citizens wish, we set up a condolence tent in front of their houses. Funeral services in Erzurum can be handled by asking only for the death report without causing any trouble to the citizens. We carry out the rest of the services ourselves.”