Once in a while, all of the elements come together to make a day that seems meant just for me. Today was one of those days. Springtime is in full bloom in Istanbul, which means tulips, tulips,
and more tulips. Of course, there are plenty of other flowers blooming, but the flower that Turkey is most known for, the flower that originated here and made its way around the world, is the tulip. Today my RC
"sponsor," Pelin, and her husband Jonathan took me to Emirgan Park for the annual Tulip Festival. Technically the festival begins tomorrow, but today the sun was shining, the birds
were singing, and the tulips were most certainly blooming. All over Istanbul there are parks like this filled with tulips of all colors, shapes, and sizes. This year, in fact, the government had to cut back on the tulip budget,
but to the untrained eye it's very hard to tell. The millions of tulips that filled the park were not as plentiful in years past when there
were whole hillsides blanketed with them, but this was still an undeniably spectacular display. There were tulips in every color you can imagine, tall tulips, short tulips, tulips that looked like roses, tulips with pointed petals, hybrid tulips, single-hued tulips, and even one kind of tulip with
upside-down blossoms! The park itself is
beautiful as well, built overlooking the Bosphorus with several of the former Ottoman sultans' residences which now serve as cafes, restaurants, and a concert hall. There is a pond in the middle of the park with paths that wind around a small stone cliff; a
great magnet for the many children in the park that is encased in decorative iron fence that keeps
them from the most dangerous areas. In addition to the tulips, there are also roses, flowering trees (some with dark purple blossoms!),
hyacinths,
muscari ("grape hyacinths"), daffodils, and dozens of other varieties of flowers I couldn't begin to identify. The stars o
f the show, however, are definitely the tulips. There are tulip statues, tulip beds in the shapes of tulips, statues that hold more tulips, and even a little nursery where, for a small fee (less than a dollar a tulip), guests can bring home their very own Turkish tulips. I will post pictures of mine as soon as they bloom!
Once in a while, all of the elements come together to make a day that seems meant just for me. Today was one of those days. Springtime is in full bloom in Istanbul, which means tulips, tulips, 
and more tulips. Of course, there are plenty of other flowers blooming, but the flower that Turkey is most known for, the flower that originated here and made its way around the world, is the tulip. Today my RC 
"sponsor," Pelin, and her husband Jonathan took me to Emirgan Park for the annual Tulip Festival. Technically the festival begins tomorrow, but today the sun was shining, the birds 
were singing, and the tulips were most certainly blooming. All over Istanbul there are parks like this filled with tulips of all colors, shapes, and sizes. This year, in fact, the government had to cut back on the tulip budget, 
but to the untrained eye it's very hard to tell. The millions of tulips that filled the park were not as plentiful in years past when there 
were whole hillsides blanketed with them, but this was still an undeniably spectacular display. There were tulips in every color you can imagine, tall tulips, short tulips, tulips that looked like roses, tulips with pointed petals, hybrid tulips, single-hued tulips, and even one kind of tulip with 
beautiful as well, built overlooking the Bosphorus with several of the former Ottoman sultans' residences which now serve as cafes, restaurants, and a concert hall. There is a pond in the middle of the park with paths that wind around a small stone cliff; a 
great magnet for the many children in the park that is encased in decorative iron fence that keeps 
them from the most dangerous areas. In addition to the tulips, there are also roses, flowering trees (some with dark purple blossoms!), 
hyacinths, muscari ("grape hyacinths"), daffodils, and dozens of other varieties of flowers I couldn't begin to identify. The stars o
f the show, however, are definitely the tulips. There are tulip statues, tulip beds in the shapes of tulips, statues that hold more tulips, and even a little nursery where, for a small fee (less than a dollar a tulip), guests can bring home their very own Turkish tulips. I will post pictures of mine as soon as they bloom!
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