In the name of love and Allah

White symbolises purity and innocence, purple signifies nobility and romance, yellow embodies both joy and hopeless love, black represents unattainability and rarity, while striped patterns convey "you have beautiful eyes" in Turkish culture. These are all meanings attributed to the tulip, a flower that has deeply embedded itself not only in Turkish soil but also in Turkish culture.

Professor Gul Irepoglu of Istanbul University, who has researched tulips, states, "To say 'tulip' is to say 'love.' The original colour of the tulip is red. It is associated with the intensity of love," to TRT World.

Originating in Central Asia, the tulip travelled with the Turks through Iran to Anatolia, finding pride of place in Istanbul’s gardens, homes, traditional Turkish arts and crafts and Turkish literature.

Among the hundreds of varieties of tulips developed to adorn Istanbul’s gardens, the pride of place belonged to the Istanbul Tulip, characterised by its slender, long and gradually tapering petals. By the beginning of the 18th century, the number of tulip varieties had reached two thousand.

But by the 19th century, with changing tastes and garden preferences, new tree species and flowers found their place in the gardens. As tulips slowly went out of fashion, their varieties decreased, as some rare ones were lost in time. That includes the Istanbul Tulip.

Till now. The city’s Istanbul Tulip Foundation, which has dedicated all its attention to tulips since 2013, has managed to revive the prized Istanbul Tulip through genetic research. As it attempts to increase its recognition across Türkiye, expand its production and improve quality, let’s take a look at Türkiye’s love affair with the elegant flower.

A mediaeval beauty, an Islamic treasure

"Tulip is a flower of harsh climates. It loves very cold and rocky places, and it thrives there. When I researched when tulips were first present in these lands, I first looked at the Byzantines. In Byzantine art, there is no motif featuring tulips. It is unknown in Byzantine culture. We can say that the tulip is a flower that came with the arrival of the Turks in Anatolia and that it is our flower," Irepoglu adds.

In the 16th century, tulips evolved from being a wild flower to becoming a garden flower. Various species were selected and cultivated. The love for tulips among the people grew, and it diversified.

Tulips also hold religious and symbolic import. The fact that the word "tulip" in Ottoman Turkish has the same letters as those in the word "Allah", has undoubtedly played a significant role in the importance attributed to the flower.

Tulips are also associated with other meanings. They bloom as a single flower on a single stem, symbolising for Muslims the unity of Allah. However, tulips are not limited to these meanings. The widespread use of tulips in various works of art is also due to their elegance. They are well-suited to design, and can be beautifully used on various materials.

"Many famous poets have used tulip metaphors. It has been compared to a lover. Tulips have also been used as a symbol of blood, due to their colour. There are many mythological stories related to tulips. When the blood of lovers who cannot meet is spilled on soil, red tulips grow from there, goes one belief. There are many similar stories," says Irepoglu.

From Ottoman Empire to Europe

Irepoglu tells TRT World: "In the 16th century, an envoy named Busbecq came from Austria to meet the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. He recorded everything he saw on his way. He was astonished by the Turks' love for flowers, saying, “Turks don't spend money on anything; they live very modestly, but when it comes to flowers, they pay for them.” On his way back, he took a few tulip bulbs back with him to Europe, among other things. First, he took them to Vienna and gave them to a botanist friend as a gift. That botanist friend was invited to work in a palace in Leiden in the Netherlands, and that's how tulips made their way to the Netherlands."

Tulips were adored in the Netherlands and considered precious. In the 17th century, a phenomenon known as "Tulipomania'' occurred in the Netherlands. The flower had gained such status that an entire dowry could consist of a valuable tulip bulb. Houses were traded for a few tulip bulbs. Tulip gardens were created, and mirrors were placed among the flowers to make them look even more magnificent.

"You know, the Netherlands is the largest tulip producer in the world today, and exports them everywhere. When I go to the Netherlands, we discuss this topic, and they openly acknowledge that tulips came from here, they write about it. They never deny it. The tulip came from Türkiye; it was cultivated there, and its value was recognised. Let's make that clear. Of course, nowadays, many countries, including Canada, grow and love tulips, and we have embraced tulips again," Irepoglu adds.

The return of the Istanbul icon

With the aim of reaffirming that the tulip is a Turkish flower at both national and international levels, the Istanbul Tulip Foundation, headquartered in Istanbul, has dedicated all its attention to tulips. The foundation’s slogan is: "The most beautiful tulip grows in Istanbul." Through genetic studies of tulips, it has even succeeded in bringing back the Istanbul Tulip.

Speaking to TRT World, Salih Arslan, the president of the Istanbul Tulip Foundation, said: "This year, in September, October and November, we will start our initial plantings on approximately 280 acres of land in Istanbul. The majority of this 280 acres will be covered with Istanbul tulips. By creating tulip carpets at the centres and squares of other cities, we will take this project to far corners of the country. We will announce it to the people through our museums and other artistic activities."