PEACE IN THE CITY

Going to Istanbul to retrieve luggage was NOT in our plans for April 23. We had planned to spend it together, quietly, at the top of Uludag (our favorite place to go), remembering and reflecting on our lovely daughter, Kylie, and the 20 years we were blessed to have her here with us. But, sometimes life throws curve balls at you and you have to roll...again. Driving in we spotted this beautiful garden with walls of the Old City as the back drop and decided to check it out the next day before we had to catch the ferry back to Bursa. The weather was cloudy and cool, and the gardens were empty at that time of the morning. And interestingly enough, the name of the the gardens....International Peace Gardens. We enjoyed strolling through the gardens, enjoying the quiet of the morning and the thousands of beautiful tulips in a multitude of colors.

Each year an International Peace Garden is dedicated to a city around the world to recognize the contribution of that city and county to make the world more peaceful. The concept began in 1990 when the first garden was presented to the U.S. by Canada for being good neighbors. Istanbul was the site of the 2010 Peace Garden and for 2011 a garden will be dedicated in Sarajevo.

Everyone equates the tulip with Holland, but the tulip actually made it's way to Holland from Turkey in the 16th century. Although the tulip came to Turkey via Iran, Turkey was the first country to domesticate and commercialize the tulip. The botanical name "tulipa" comes from the Turkish word "tulbend" or "turban", which the flower resembles. Once it reached Holland, "tulip mania" took over and the cost of tulips/tulip seeds required a king's ransom, eventually leading to a "tulip crash" until they developed the mass breeding and commercialization of today. The tulip is considered to be "the king of the bulbs". The period of Turkish history between 1718-1730 (the Ottoman time) is called the "Tulip Era", a time of peace and enjoyment. The tulip image became prevalent across the board in arts and textiles from tiles, to carpets, to pottery, to woven goods. During this era the price of tulips in Turkey were exceptionally high. Every April since 2006, Istanbul has had a Tulip Festival, planting more than 3 million bulbs throughout the city.

The colors, shapes and height of the tulips were so amazing.  The photos do not do them justice.

Trying to capture the water feature without people was impossible; these miniature bluebonnets reminded us of Texas

 

 

 

 

The ramparts, or old City Walls of Istanbul make a striking backdrop to the gardens.  They clearly go on outside the gardens.  They were first built in the 7th century and rebuilt 4 times, the last in 408AD by Theodosius II.  They total 22 km inland, on the Golden Horn and on the Marmara coastline.  They consist of moats and internal and external walls, made mostly of sandstone and brick, being 5m wide and 15m high.  There are close to 200 Bastions at 20m in height. These were used as dungeons, prisons, or storage. There were 36 internal and external gates connecting the city to the outside, and today there are 9 still in use, noted by the 5m wide arches along the walls and barely wide enough for one vehicle to get through.