The Turquoise Chronicles

Spring has come to Istanbul and it has brought many visitors from the States. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to welcome my parents, close family friends, and good friend Tori from Vermont. It’s the perfect time of year to tour Turkey, with cool temps a decent chance of sunshine, and tulips in bloom!

Tulips are a big deal here. They are displayed in mosaics on sidewalks (see the icon of this blog), embroidered on textiles, and – as I’ve come to find – blanket Istanbul parks and medians from April through May.

Tulips were brought from Turkey to Holland in the 1500s. It is suspected that bulbs were first transported from Turkey to Austria by an ambassador of the Hapsburg Empire (Marie Antoinette’s fam). In Vienna, botanist Carolus Clusius worked to develop the tulip. Clusius then brought the tulip to the Netherlands after he was named director of the botanic gardens at Leiden University.

I’ve known of the tulip’s origin since my mom and I visited the Tulip Museum in Amsterdam back in 2018. There, the Dutch acknowledged that tulips have their origins in Turkey. In fact, the botanical name for tulips is derived from the Turkish word “tulbend” or “turban”, which the flower resembles.

After arriving in Istanbul, I had heard rumor of a must-see tulip garden called Emirgan Park. When my parents confirmed their visit for April, I knew I would take my mom to see it.

Once we entered the park, the gorgeous tulips surrounded us. Given the limited time that the tulips are in bloom, all of Istanbul turned out to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Families set up picnics and photo shoots to enjoy the good vibes.

The garden visit was a nice bookend to our trip to Amsterdam back in 2018. Really special to host family here in Istanbul and thankful to those willing to make the trip.

Touring around Istanbul was loads of fun but we also had other plans just across the Aegean. To be continued…