The Istanbul Tulip Festival
The arrival of Spring is greeted each year by a Tulip Festival. Great banks of brightly coloured tulips fill the flowerbeds in public spaces and the major parks of Istanbul.
Gulhane Park, formerly the royal garden to Topkapi Palace, has a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere. The banks of flowers make a delightful carpet of varied types and colours under the mighty ancient trees and flowering shrubs.
Beyond the park there are glimpses of water: the Bosphorus busy with huge ships plying to and from the Black Sea; and the Golden Horn with ferries skimming across from north to south or up to Fener and Balat and then Eyup, the last stop, where you can take a cable car up to Pierre Loti's cafe.
Emirgan Park Situated on the European side of the Bosphorus at Sariyer, this park was once a private estate. The site is hilly, with many cypress trees, a small lake and a waterfall. There are splendid views of the Bosphorus and the hills of the Asian side. Part of Gulhane Park
The former wooden palace has long since disappeared but there are still three royal style pavilions- one pink, one yellow and one white. And in Spring, along with trees in blossom, the park is filled with tulips.
Tulip Festival in Emirgan Park [picure courtesy of Wikipedia] The Yellow Pavilion in Emirgan Park [picure courtesy of Wikipedia]
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