Turks revive glory of tulips from Istanbul

 Video

It's not the minarets, the sunsets or the views of the Bosphorous that are thrilling Istanbul's April crowds - it is tulips. Tulips are blooming, almost one for each of the city's 12 million inhabitants. The city want to remind the world that Turkey is the birthplace of the flower, now more readily associated with wooden shoes, cheese and windmills.

It's not the minarets, the sunsets or the views of the Bosphorous that are thrilling Istanbul's April crowds - it is tulips.

Tulips line the coast along the Sea of Marmara. They stand out among the drab, concrete islands amid Istanbul's notoriously heavy traffic. And they nestle in colourful clusters near the city's key tourist sights.

There's been planting of tulip bulbs and a nine-day tulip festival. There's a photo exhibition of the 100 most beautiful tulips in the city's busiest square, And Istanbul council has begun agricultural tulip production in the hope it will develop as an industry.

Kadir Topbas, Istanbul mayor, said, "People are very much excited that tulips are returning to their homeland. Tulips are of course part of us. In textile, in ceramics and even in our children's names, I mean, in every field of our lives, we have lived with tulips for hundreds of years. The tulip is a beautiful flower that left us a hundred and fifty years ago. But now they are coming back."