Due to the 565^th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, the largest tulip carpet in the world was opened on an area of 734 square meters consisting of 565 live tulips. The events held at the 60^th Year Park of the Emirgan Grove and Göztepe will continue until April 30.  

In the opening program organized in Sultanahmet Square; İstanbul Governor Vasip Şahin, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mevlüt Uysal, Fatih Municipality Head Mustafa Demir and a large number of citizens participated.

Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin, who spoke at the opening, said, "The tulip was born in this country, but it spread across the globe, especially in Western Europe. We are a nation that has been sharing our beauties since long and we are not a jealous nation. We effort for the beauties we have to be spread to our neighbors."

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mevlüt Uysal also said Istanbul was the mainland of tulip, and that with the 1,588 tulip species in the 18^th century, the city was almost a tulip paradise. (ILKHA)