1001 Flowers
- Apr 24, 2017
- 2 min read
Following my visit to Polemi Tulip Festival, where a rare species of Tulips called Tulipa agenensis blooms in the beginning of April, I wanted to find out more about these beautiful flowers. Red, with a hint of yellow in the centre, they are referred to as 'sun-eyed' flowers by the villagers. The species is native to the middle East, first brought to Cyprus during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Being the world’s third most popular flower, tulips are national flowers of Turkey, Hungary and secondary national flowers of Iran. Interestingly enough, it is not an official national flower of the Netherlands, despite the popular belief. Tulips are even displayed as an emblem on Turkish Airlines.
Don’t get into politics, don’t get into politics, damn you. On the Northern side of the island in Kyrenia, another tulip festival is organised every year. It is barely mentioned in the Greek-Cypriot media and few advertisements can be found on the internet, yet, it is a thing. I only found out about it after the event took place, so unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit the festival in Kyrenia this year.
Both festivals have been around for over a decade. Both have thousands of visitors every year. Both selling handcrafts and ice cream. Here are two videos from each of the festivals. Similar aren’t they?
I will leave you to be the judge. I am a mere observer.
From the creators of a thousand and one nights, we bring you *drumroll* Khosrow and Shirin. Tale as old as time, it has been told and retold, with about 10 different versions floating around the internet. The earliest version was written by Nizami Ganjavi in a tragic poem, but a later Anatolian version is the one I will tell you. It is called Shirin and Farhad. A young muralist falls in love with a princess and asks her sister for permission to marry Shirin. Her sister, Mehmene, agrees but on one condition, he has to make way through a mountain for the water to reach the city. He sets of to work and is progressing on well. When Mehmene discovers this, she sends him fake news of Shirin’s death. Farhad is devastated and in his grief throws the crowbar he dug the mountain with into the air which lands on his head and kills him. On hearing about her lover’s death, Shirin plunges from a cliff to her death. There is now a statue depicting the story in Amasya, Turkey. What interests us, however, is that according to one account of the story, tulips grew where Farhad’s blood fell on the ground as a symbol of his love. Although I was unable to find the origins of this perspective, I neither the less think it tragically beautiful.
In reality, the Tulip Era of the Ottoman Empire was prosperous and relatively peaceful. The Empire saw a rise in economics, architecture, arts and a beginning of connections with Europe. A great number of Arabic poets mention tulips in their work though not a lot of it has been translated. The flower has deep roots in the Arabic culture and is loved and appreciated until this day.
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