"THE CITY OF TULIPS" a Istanbul Travel Page by nicolaitan

Tulips are an everlasting symbol of Istanbul and Turkey, not the familiar varieties with rounded incurving petals seen in northern Europe and North America, but with pointed outward directed petals in the shape of daggers or needles. This stylized tulip decorates the mall between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia and emphasizes these features, representing an entire period of Turkish history as well as an on-going love affair between the city and the tulip. Today in Istanbul there is said to be one tulip for every one of its 12 million inhabitants. The fuselage of Turkish Airlines planes carries a logo of a tulip as well. Millions of dollars ( even more in lira) have been spent on plantings all over Istanbul with a tulip festival annually.

Wild-growing tulips in Iran and Eastern Turkey were imported to Istanbul before the 15th C but were heavily cultivated in gardens and flowerbox settings in Istanbul as well as depicted in art and craft. From here came the spread of tulipmania to Western Europe and Holland in particular in the 1630's. The English word tulip is derived from the Turkish word for helmet, to which the flower bears a vague resemblance. Tulip gardening was a hobby of the rich and powerful in Turkey, considered both relaxing and spiritual, and especially favored by the sultans and grand viziers. Surprisingly, even though tulips extended west from Istanbul, the tulipmania of the 1630's in northern Europe did not occur in Turkey until the so-called "Tulip Period" in the early 18th C. Sultan Ahmet III among others was obsessed with gardens, tulips, and garden parties driving bulb prices to insane levels. Others with great interest included Admiral Mustafa Pasa ( see Mustafapasa tip on Nevsehir Ili page for more on this fascinating and doomed character ) who invented over 40 new tulip breeds. The Tulip Period was one of relative peace for Turkey with an emphasis on art, culture, and architecture with a Baroque orientation derived from contact with the remainder of Europe. Crushing defeats in European battles late in this timespan brought increasing unrest and outrage against the excesses of the ruling classes and the government stepped in to control the tulip trade, ending the Tulip Period and royal foolishness. Tulips gradually disappeared from Istanbul life, only to be reborn in the last few years.

Istanbul is, of course, far more than tulips. Legends and myths ascribe the founding of the city in the 6th C BC to an expatriate Greek named Byzas, hence the first name of the city Byzantium. However, archaeologic studies have confirmed human inhabitation as early as 6500 BC and the area has probably been occupied since the dawn of time. The attractions we visit today date largely from the Roman era which began around 100 BC. As Rome weakened, Byzantium became the capitol of the Roman Empire in 330AD and renamed Constantinople after the emperor of the same name. When Emperor Theodosius died in 396, he divided the empire between his two sons making Constantinople the capitol of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. Its location at the junction of two continents made the city a center of commerce, diplomacy, and culture with a distinctly Greek orientation and a central position in the Greek Orthodox Church. The city thrived until the early 13th Century.

In 1204 the Fourth Crusade abandoned Jerusalem as its goal and instead attacked and destroyed much of Constantinople. Their " Latin Empire " would last until only 1261, but by then the damage was irreparable. The city was weakened and its population dropped. The inevitable takeover by the growing Ottoman Empire was completed by Sultan Mehmed II in 1453 who began the rebuilding of the city as a major power. Many of the touristic sites we visit today date to the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-66) and his great court architect Sinan. By the 19th Century the imperial dynasty and the Ottoman Empire had weakened at least in part related to the excesses of the sultans and their misguided politics. After siding with Germany in WWI, the country was reborn as a republic in 1923 led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern day Turkey. The revival of Istanbul did not really begin until the 1950's, but today the city is the third largest on the planet ( ranking fourth in billionaires ), again a major player on the world stage.

For the 21st C traveller, Istanbul offers great sacred and secular museums and houses of worship largely dating from the time of the Eastern Roman Empire and the early Ottoman Empire augmented by superb hotels, excellent if pricey shopping centers, and great restaurants. From its perch overlooking the Bosphorus, Istanbul is worthy of detailed attention, and we enjoyed our trip here immensely for all the above.