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 along with trees 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