Gülhane Park (Gülhane Parki in Turkish, or "Rosehouse Park") is an urban garden adjacent to the Topkapi Palace, the Imperial Palace of the Ottoman's. The Park was originally a part of the outer gardens of the Palace. It became more well known after the 1839 Edict of Gülhane was announced in the garden, the launch of Tanzimat reforms in the Ottoman Empire (which provided for things like modernization of the Empire and equal rights under the law for all citizens regardless of religion). It was turned over the municipality of Istanbul and became a park in 1912 (before the fall of the Ottoman Empire).
We were lucky; the flowers were all in bloom. There is not much else to say, other than "Enjoy the view".
Those are splashes of color TB, just the thing for this humid, hot morning.
ReplyDeleteI am glad I could bring something to your day, Nylon12!
DeleteThey really were spectacular. The funny thing is that from the outside wall, you would not have know all of this was here.
We have a nearby town near here known for a tulip festival every spring. It is quite colorful to walk around in full bloom. Your Turkish park reminded me of it.
ReplyDeleteThey were really spectacular, Ed. And tulips have certainly long been associated with Turkey and The Ottomans.
DeleteI'm finding it surprising that Turkey isn't mentioned as a travel destination more often. It's usually places like Paris, Rome, Athens, Vienna. A European tour rarely seems to include Turkey. Your posts show that it's truly a fascinating place, rich in history and culture.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I am too. I am not sure why that is, honestly. I think it might come from a combination of (for us North/South American folks) being at the very fringe of Europe with many more destinations closer in and a potential concern (frankly) of instability and the potential for issues. From experience, we saw very little of this (although our guide did discuss the political situation; surprise, they have issues like we do). The people were invariably friendly and you would not have known you were not in a non Western/Eastern European country.
DeleteI am aware, of course, of the issues with Erdogan and some the issue with the PKK (Kurdish Worker's Party); we were far from the Kurdish border and no-one talked politics there the way no restaurant or store talks politics here.