Friday, March 6, 2015
International Istanbul Tulip Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
In April
the annual International Istanbul Tulip Festival (Istanbul Lale Festivali)
takes place. This shouldn't be a surprise if you know that — unlike common
belief — tulips originated more or less in Turkey
Every April since
2006, the city government in Istanbul has
planted millions of tulips in Istanbul
In 2013,
the total was 13 million!
The result
is a glorious spring flower festival with brilliant splashes of
color everywhere you look.
Tulips
originally grew wild on the Asian steppes. Although tulips are associated with Holland , commercial cultivation of the tulip
or lale (from the Persian word lâhle) began in the Ottoman Empire . The most widely accepted story is that of
Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq, Ambassador of Ferdinand I to Suleyman the
Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire in 1554. He
remarked in a letter that he saw “an abundance of flowers everywhere:
narcissus, hyacinths and those in Turkish called Lale.” It’s no
coincidence that this period — the wealthiest of the Ottoman era — is called
the Tulip era (Lale Devri).
In the 16th
century they were brought to Holland from the Ottoman Empire , and quickly became widely popular.
During the
month of April, you can spot these glorious spring flowers everywhere in Istanbul Emirgan Park Istanbul
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