Tulips are everywhere! Most people think of tulips as a Dutch thing - windmills, clogs, and tulips, but they were an Istanbul thing first. The Ottomans really loved their tulips, and they started "commercial cultivation" of the flower and gave the name to the flower, according to Wikipedia.
The Lale Festival lasts the entire month of April. There are no official places to see the tulips: several parks around Istanbul are known for their great showings, and a lot of tulips are just chilling on the side of the road, like in the photo above.
Abby, her mom, and I went up to Emirgan, the most popular park for tulips, yesterday to see the sights. Boy, these flowers are beautiful.
Also, the Turkish flag in tulips.
I would like to point out that the symbol/logo of Istanbul, which can be seen on my akbil here, is a tulip made out of domes and minarets. So the next time you hear someone talking about the Netherlands and their tulips, you set them straight.
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