Coloring the city with vivid tulips
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 16, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Being one of the symbols of Turkish culture, tulips are planted to herald the coming of spring in Istanbul. The city now celebrates the 4th Int’l Tulip Festival and vivid tulips can be seen everywhere. The Mayor of Istanbul says the aim is to make Istanbul a tulip heaven
Spring has arrived in Istanbul as the 4th International Tulip Festival kicked off this week with rainbows of color splashed across the city’s landscape, where millions of tulips have been planted.
As a flower that originated in the Near East, the tulip is a significant symbol in Turkish culture that dates back to the Ottoman period. Having lost its symbolic resonance in Turkey over the years, and as it became a flower that is ascribed to Holland, the mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbaş, embarked on a project to bring the tulip back to Turkey.
The festival, which started four years ago with tulips planted in key public spaces in Istanbul, has grown into a tulip exhibition that can be seen from every corner of Istanbul. "Our aim is to make Istanbul into a tulip heaven," Topbaş said, speaking at a news conference held in Emirgan Park yesterday.
Project to better aesthetics
The mayor explained that the tulip project was not only an initiative to better the city’s aesthetics, but it is also a large-scale cultural project Ğ one that contributes to Istanbul’s title as the European Culture Capital of 2010. Topbaş said that in addition to beautifying the city’s landscape, the tulip project boosts the economy, creates employment and encourages artists to paint and photograph the flowers that are put on display around the city.
Each year the festival brings together many artists who produce pieces based on tulips. This year, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will be organizing a competition for artists who take part in the tulip project, with 100 different prizes available. The mayor himself took part in painting a tulip at the opening of the festival this week and gave the painting to the highest bidder. The proceeds from the painting went to the Istanbul Physical Disability Foundation.
Advantages of the project
Topbaş highlighted that the tulip project is not a mere 25-day exhibition but an ongoing project that brings both economic and ecologic advantages to the city. "People that live in cities are no single entities. They are part of an ecological chain. The tulips are an enhancement to this chain; they bring beauty and prosperity to the city. Without this chain, we enter dangerous territories where water dams become dry and land does not produce food, therefore it is crucial to invest in such enhancements," Topbaş said.
The tulip project, which grows every year, is expected to reach an international level through tulip exports to other countries from Konya, the main village of production.
The 4th International Tulip Festival is taking place from April 12 to 19. The main exhibitions and festivities are taking place at Taksim Square, Emirgan Park, Sultanahmet Square and Göztepe Rose Garden.
As a flower that originated in the Near East, the tulip is a significant symbol in Turkish culture that dates back to the Ottoman period. Having lost its symbolic resonance in Turkey over the years, and as it became a flower that is ascribed to Holland, the mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbaş, embarked on a project to bring the tulip back to Turkey.
The festival, which started four years ago with tulips planted in key public spaces in Istanbul, has grown into a tulip exhibition that can be seen from every corner of Istanbul. "Our aim is to make Istanbul into a tulip heaven," Topbaş said, speaking at a news conference held in Emirgan Park yesterday.
Project to better aesthetics
The mayor explained that the tulip project was not only an initiative to better the city’s aesthetics, but it is also a large-scale cultural project Ğ one that contributes to Istanbul’s title as the European Culture Capital of 2010. Topbaş said that in addition to beautifying the city’s landscape, the tulip project boosts the economy, creates employment and encourages artists to paint and photograph the flowers that are put on display around the city.
Each year the festival brings together many artists who produce pieces based on tulips. This year, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will be organizing a competition for artists who take part in the tulip project, with 100 different prizes available. The mayor himself took part in painting a tulip at the opening of the festival this week and gave the painting to the highest bidder. The proceeds from the painting went to the Istanbul Physical Disability Foundation.
Advantages of the project
Topbaş highlighted that the tulip project is not a mere 25-day exhibition but an ongoing project that brings both economic and ecologic advantages to the city. "People that live in cities are no single entities. They are part of an ecological chain. The tulips are an enhancement to this chain; they bring beauty and prosperity to the city. Without this chain, we enter dangerous territories where water dams become dry and land does not produce food, therefore it is crucial to invest in such enhancements," Topbaş said.
The tulip project, which grows every year, is expected to reach an international level through tulip exports to other countries from Konya, the main village of production.
The 4th International Tulip Festival is taking place from April 12 to 19. The main exhibitions and festivities are taking place at Taksim Square, Emirgan Park, Sultanahmet Square and Göztepe Rose Garden.