The Tulip Festival

 Tulip Time in Istanbul

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. 

Part of Gulhane Park

Emirgan Park  Situated at Sariyer on the European side of the Bosphorus Strait, this park was formerly 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 across the water on the Asian side of Istanbul. 

In Spring, along with trees in blossom, the extensive flowerbeds provide a stunning display of tulips of every variety and colour.

Tulip Festival in Emirgan Park  [picure courtesy of Wikipedia]


The former wooden palace has long since disappeared but there are still three royal style pavilions- one pink, one yellow and one white.

The Yellow Pavilion in Emirgan Park [picure courtesy of Wikipedia]

The Bosphorus Strait in the background