ISTANBUL — During the 10th International Istanbul Tulip Festival, which finished today (Sunday), the Turkish city displayed the largest weaved tulip carpet in the world consisting of 545,000 flowers and covering an area of 262,000 square meters in the yard of Sultan Ahmed Mosque. For the first time in the world, a carpet was woven with tulips and the flower has become not only the symbol of Istanbul but Turkey as a whole. Thirty million tulips bloom throughout Istanbul during the festival, featuring numerous events. The tulip, the symbol of Istanbul, will be seen all over parks during the festival. Additionally, millions of tulips have been planted in the parks of Istanbul as part of the festival. Emirgan Park is currently home to 2.8 million tulips of 192 different varieties, Göztepe 60 Year Park contains almost 1.9 million tulips of 161 types, Gülhane Park contains 1.38 million tulips of 86 different types and Y?ld?z Park has 730,000 tulips of 32 types planted. During a press conference, Temel Kotil, CEO of Turkish Airlines said: “Istanbul is one of the most popular destinations in the world for city breaks from the GCC, with a flying distance of less than five hours. “The ongoing tulip festival has been a major calendar highlight attracting millions of foreign visitors to the city over the last 10 years and we are proud of its continued success. “As Turkey's national flag carrier we are delighted to promote Istanbul's touristic offerings and this year we have already witnessed a 6.44 percent increase in passenger traffic from the GCC, an upward growth trend which we anticipate sustaining through the continued success of campaigns like the International Istanbul Tulip Festival.” Turkish Airlines' many aircrafts portray images of tulips. Istanbul is also frequented by an increasing number of GCC tourists, the fastest growing market for the airline. Thirty street paintings are also displayed in Kadiköy Square, Galata Tower area and Taksim Square. Turkish bands as well as Ebru marbling artists offer a fun time to visitors with live performances at both of the main event venues throughout the festival.
