Traditional Tulips of Turkey

 

Long before we arrived in Turkey we were told that tulips originated from here. The Dutch, Turks claim, imported their tulip industry from Turkey. The tulip is as iconic to Turkish society as the Aya Sofia, kabab, tea, coffee and historical Christian sites. You can see the symbol of the tulip everywhere. They weave it into tapestries, it adorns the ornate tiles and plates and even the traditional Turkish tea cups are shaped like a tulip flower.

Every year there is an annual festival in Istanbul—Emirgan Park—to be more specific to celebrate the tulips. We just missed it last year, so we decided that we should make it a priority this year. We were lucky that this last weekend was warm (for Spring) and sunny so that we could enjoy the manicured gardens.

Lady Hiva wanted some simit

We arrived early so we could have a good look before the crowds showed up. I could not believe the beauty of all the tulips. There were so many colors, types and styles. Some were pointy, others were round and looked  similar to a puff ball and others were small and dainty. A few of the types were literally larger than my entire hand! There were reds, purples, whites, blues, yellows, many, many different versions of pink and black. We walked around and took several photos. I am sure that  after a while they all begin to look the same in the photos, but when you are actually there it is hard not to want to capture the sheer beauty that nature gives so effortlessly.

Resim yazısı ekle

Lady said, "Oh, look that one was misplaced." I was proud of it for daring to be different!

Some of the gardens resembled larger versions of what could be seen in our home yards. Others were large designs of animals or shapes. Then there were scenes of waterfalls, rivers and other outdoor favorites all made out of flowers. When we walked past one LARGE scene of a river, Lucky Dragon saw the large swans (covered in white buds) and said, “Donald Duck!” Then after he saw we were both laughing at his comment he kept repeating “Donald Duck!” over and over to continue the reaction.

We really do love Spring and it was fun to spend time outside and see the precious gifts nature gives to us. 

Stand out, lead the pack!