I'll never forget a January tour to Türkiye about 20 years ago when we visited the site of Laodicia in a snowstorm. We operated as usual (note the map in the snow!) and our students were undeterred.
I am reminded of how Cyrus the Great surprised the Lydians by marching through "wintertime cold" to Sardis. Croesus, the Lydian king, had disbanded his army for the season, as was the habit in those days. I guess the Persians didn't get the memo. They did take Sardis tho! The year? 547 BC.
We won't face these challenges when we visit Sardis and Laodica next summer. Will you join us? Check out the details for this travel opportunity at:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55b8ecb6e4b083fd0d23d93f/t/683ee4dc3f94585b68120132/1748952294080/Turkiye+Program%2C+Wildman+2026.pdf
Note: For more on the wintertime defeat of the Lydians, see Herodotus's Histories (I.79-81 and I.84) or Xenophon’s Cyropaedia (2.1.6 and 7.1.23-28).