By William Berg
Tulips have been, and are still, being admired by people in many different regions and cultures. Wild Tulips are found in Europe, Africa and Asia. Their native area stretches from southern Europe to northern Africa, and proceeds eastward into Asia from Anatolia and Iran. The most prominent Tulip habitats are found on the steppes of Kazakhstan and among the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains, but wild Tulips can be found all the way into the very eastern parts of China and Japan.
The Tulip has always been held in high esteem by the Middle East cultures and the European name “Tulip” is actually derived from the Persian word for turban. Some etymologists claim that the name was selected since a budding Tulip resembles a traditional turban, while other etymologists suggests that the term is instead the result of a misunderstanding – Tulip flowers were commonly used to decorate the folds of the turban. If you study traditional folk art from Persia and Turkey you will see.
Today, the Tulip is the national flower of Iran as well as of Turkey and the tulip is even suggested on the Iran flag. If you look at traditional Persian and Turkish folk art you will clearly see how important the Tulip motif is and has been.
The Netherlands in Europe is another country strongly linked to the Tulip. The Netherlands will, for instance, send Tulips to the Canadian capital, Ottawa, each year. During World War II, Canada aided in liberating the Netherlands from the German invasion and also served as a refuge for the Dutch Crown Princess who was later to become Queen Juliana.
In Europe, as well as in the Ottoman Empire, episodes of so called “Tulip Mania” when tulips have been used for speculation have occurred. Historians still debate exactly how severe these waves of speculation were and how damaging the Tulip booms and subsequent crashes were to the respective economies. Some even claim that Tulip Mania strongly contributed to the final financial decline of the Ottoman Empire.
Historians do not now exactly when and how the Tulip was introduced to Western Europe for the first time. Perhaps Tulips were brought to this part of the world several times before the flower really became appreciated and famous.
One story claims that ambassador Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq brought Tulips to German attention as early as 1554. Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq had been sent from Ferdinand I of Germany to Suleyman the Magnificent and in one of his letters he write about seeing "an abundance of flowers everywhere; narcissus, hyacinths, and those which the Turks call tulipam, much to our astonishment, because it was almost midwinter, a season unfriendly to flowers". Botanists are however askepticeptic to this letter, since Tulips do not bloom in midwinter, not even in the warm Middle East. Perhaps Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq confused the winter journey with an expedition that he participated in during a warmer part of the year of 1558. We know that Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq wrote and dated all his letters after his journeys, not while he was actutravelinglling.
Tulips are just one of many flowers that have an important cultural significance in numerous religions. Others include the cherry tree and the Bamboo plant.
Tulips have been, and are still, being admired by people in many different regions and cultures. Wild Tulips are found in Europe, Africa and Asia. Their native area stretches from southern Europe to northern Africa, and proceeds eastward into Asia from Anatolia and Iran. The most prominent Tulip habitats are found on the steppes of Kazakhstan and among the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains, but wild Tulips can be found all the way into the very eastern parts of China and Japan.
The Tulip has always been held in high esteem by the Middle East cultures and the European name “Tulip” is actually derived from the Persian word for turban. Some etymologists claim that the name was selected since a budding Tulip resembles a traditional turban, while other etymologists suggests that the term is instead the result of a misunderstanding – Tulip flowers were commonly used to decorate the folds of the turban. If you study traditional folk art from Persia and Turkey you will see.
Today, the Tulip is the national flower of Iran as well as of Turkey and the tulip is even suggested on the Iran flag. If you look at traditional Persian and Turkish folk art you will clearly see how important the Tulip motif is and has been.
The Netherlands in Europe is another country strongly linked to the Tulip. The Netherlands will, for instance, send Tulips to the Canadian capital, Ottawa, each year. During World War II, Canada aided in liberating the Netherlands from the German invasion and also served as a refuge for the Dutch Crown Princess who was later to become Queen Juliana.
In Europe, as well as in the Ottoman Empire, episodes of so called “Tulip Mania” when tulips have been used for speculation have occurred. Historians still debate exactly how severe these waves of speculation were and how damaging the Tulip booms and subsequent crashes were to the respective economies. Some even claim that Tulip Mania strongly contributed to the final financial decline of the Ottoman Empire.
Historians do not now exactly when and how the Tulip was introduced to Western Europe for the first time. Perhaps Tulips were brought to this part of the world several times before the flower really became appreciated and famous.
One story claims that ambassador Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq brought Tulips to German attention as early as 1554. Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq had been sent from Ferdinand I of Germany to Suleyman the Magnificent and in one of his letters he write about seeing "an abundance of flowers everywhere; narcissus, hyacinths, and those which the Turks call tulipam, much to our astonishment, because it was almost midwinter, a season unfriendly to flowers". Botanists are however askepticeptic to this letter, since Tulips do not bloom in midwinter, not even in the warm Middle East. Perhaps Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq confused the winter journey with an expedition that he participated in during a warmer part of the year of 1558. We know that Oghier Ghislain de Busbecq wrote and dated all his letters after his journeys, not while he was actutravelinglling.
Tulips are just one of many flowers that have an important cultural significance in numerous religions. Others include the cherry tree and the Bamboo plant.
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