Istanbul's 2023 Tulip Festival to celebrate Ottoman culture
White tulips in parks of Istanbul, Türkiye. (Photo courtesy of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality)


Istanbul will host a colorful spectacle with the arrival of the tulip season in 2023 as historical landmarks in the city such as Emirgan and Gülhane Park, Sultanahmet Square, the 60th Anniversary Göztepe Park and Hidiv Grove are to be adorned with mesmerizing sights of 7.75 million hyacinths, daffodils, grape hyacinths and tulips.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Parks, Gardens and Green Areas Directorate has decorated the city's historical sites with colorful tulips while they prepare to provide a visual feast for visitors.

Children's shows, workshops, street art performances and concerts will also be held during the events that will begin on April 15.

In this magnificent festival where tulips bloom all around Istanbul, both Istanbulites, locals and foreign tourists will have the opportunity to enjoy natural beauty to the fullest. Istanbul, with its historical and cultural texture, will host thousands of different colors throughout April with the tulip show.

Pink tulips in parks of Istanbul, Türkiye. (Photo courtesy of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality)

Since 2006, Istanbul has held its Tulip Festival every April.

Apart from being a mere flower, tulips were highly significant in Ottoman culture and history. During the 16th and 17th centuries, tulips were widely cultivated in Ottoman gardens and became an important symbol of the empire's power and prosperity.

The Ottomans developed a particular passion for the flower, and it became a symbol of wealth and prestige. They even had a term for this obsession, "Lale Devri," meaning "the era of the tulips." The tulip was also a popular motif in Ottoman art, visible in textiles, ceramics and other decorative objects.

The flower also played a significant role in the economy of the Ottoman Empire. The cultivation and sale of tulips became a lucrative industry, and the Ottomans developed a complex system for trading them. Tulips were even used as a form of currency at one point, with bulbs being traded for high sums of money.