I know some people appreciate history so here is one of the translations i recently did: The legends of Anatolia are as old as Anatolia itself. In the lands where agriculture was first practiced, the polytheist peoples of the area viewed every event in relation to their numerous gods. A good example is Tammuz, the god of crops in Mesopotamia. When he was angered and turned his back on the soil, the land would dry up and yield no crop. The Hittites had an equivalent god: Telepinu. In Greek mythology, the goddess Demeter taught how to raise crops. In Egypt, Isis was responsible for nourishing the soil. The Roman counterpart was Ceres, symbolized with wheat stalks. Aside from gods of agriculture and fertility, Greek mythology featured many other beings pertaining to plants. The oak tree nymphs, the Dryad, protected plant life and were happiest when trees were lively and healthy, mourned deeply when their leaves started drying. The poet Ovidius wrote of Flora, the flower goddess and Zephyrus, the god of the west wind: “Flora was a nymph named Chloris. The god of the west wind, Zephyrus, abducted and married her; even gave her complete command over all plants and flowers.†The world-renowned sculptor Michelangelo depicted Adam and Eve under a fig tree (Ficus carica) which he used to represent The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in his fresco. In other words, the fig tree native to Caria (modern Muğla and environs) had not only given them fruit, but also made Adam and Eve cover themselves with fig leaves upon realizing their nakedness. In ancient Rome, the Floralia Festival honoring Flora was held between April 29-May 3 chiefly because of the pre-existing pagan tradition of celebrating the spring season on the first day of May every year. It is very suggestive that Anatolian peoples used plants 50,000 years ago during the Paleolithic Age, the Neanderthal graves found in the Shanidar Cave directly south of modern Hakkari, and the fact that approximately 300,000 tablets from the Nineveh Library of Babylon deal with plant life. What is even more important is the fact that local peoples used authentic Flora cult motifs to weave rugs and carpets affirms the theory that the cult of Flora spread out from Mesopotamia into all of Asia around five thousand years ago. One age-old legend claims Noah's arc was built from cedar trees. Another speaks of the mighty oak tree that appeared to Osman Ghazi, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, a tree that grew and covered the world, resembling the massive empire he was to forge. A tree in heaven, Tuba, is also such a legend, claiming humanity originated from this tree with its emerald colored leaves. Flower gardens were ever-present in the daily life of Byzantine society and were named peripolion. There were not specific terms for vineyards, orchards, recreational gardens, and the gardens of individual buildings-in general, vineyards and orchards were referred to as Ampelokepion. In Byzantine Constantinople were a wide-ranging variety of gardens; the gardens of individual homes, gardens that grew medicinal plants, the gardens of the nobility, and monastery gardens. Interestingly, the only type of grounds that were not existent in Constantinople were recreational gardens which existed throughout the rest of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines were no different from other medieval peoples in the sense that they made medicine from plants and naturally placed high importance on the gardens cultivated for medicinal plants. These types of gardens were owned by monasteries and wealthy individuals and featured fenugreek, rosemary, mint, sage, rue, iris, bergamot, cumin, wild celery, fennel, lilac, and rose plants. Imperial symbols exist that were derived of flowers; one symbol of imperial France was the lily, and the chrysanthemum still adorns the Imperial Seal of Japan. The historian Hammer believes the laurel tree groves mentioned in the earliest Byzantine sources was located on the plot of the modern Yıldız Park, between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy. This park was referred to as Mabeyn Bahçesi and was in use during the reign of Abdülaziz I. The park was reserved for the Sultan and his close acquaintances, although sometimes the sovereign would permit harem members onto the premises. The poetess Leyla Hanım was the daughter of the sultan's physician and was so enthralled with the park that she could not refrain from mentioning it in her memoirs. Not only did the sultans have kept gardens at various palaces, every house, mansion, and seafront property in Istanbul sported gardens. These gardens supplied palace demand for flowers, fruit, and vegetables and were referred to as Hadaik-i Hassa, run by the Bostancıbaşı Corps. Those working in the gardens of Topkapı Palace and those working outside it were classified differently. The workers that tended to the gardens of the Topkapı Palace were referred to as Hasbahçe Bostancıları, which meant ‘palace gardeners'. The gardeners would manage the palace gardens that enclosed the palace buildings from three directions and belonged to the Haşbahçe corps. Members of the corps were not paid wages, instead, they made their living from selling the excess fruit and vegetables they grew that was not required by the palace kitchen, Matbah-ı Amire. There were 40 such gardens in Istanbul during the 16th century. Nearly all of the imperial gardens featured manors and palaces reserved for the sultan's personal use, whether he went hunting or entertained guests. Some of these gardens such as the Tersane Gardens, the Davutpaşa Gardens, and the Ãœsküdar Gardens even had quarters where harem members could stay with the sultan. The year was 1458 when Mehmet the Conqueror received word that Mahmut Pasha had successfully taken Tokat while he was hunting nearby the village of Akbaba in Beykoz. The sultan was overjoyed at the news and ordered “without further ado, build here an exemplary garden and name it the Tokat Gardens; to protect hunted animals, erect around it a wall resembling the walls of Tokat.†Mehmet the Conqueror's decree resulted in the first seafront gardens in Istanbul. The premises featured a manor, a fully-equipped Turkish bath, and a fountain; it is said that Suleiman the Magnificent was especially partial to the Tokat Gardens, and that Murad IV played cirit, the traditional Turkish equestrian sport, on its manicured lawns. The Tokat Gardens began a trend of large seafront gardens in Istanbul, quickly spreading and multiplying in numbers. The floriculture of Istanbul holds an important place in Ottoman gardening culture. Istanbul floriculture began with the floral arrangements within the imperial gardens of Ottoman palaces built during the reign of Mehmet the Conqueror. The oldest florist of Istanbul on record is Efşancı Mehmet who is mentioned in Meşairü'ş-Şuara, written by Aşık Çelebi. Efşancı Mehmet probably lived towards the end of the 15th century and made his living by selling the jasmine and violet he grew. He established Efşancı Gardens, the first flower farm in Istanbul. Another individual that left an indelible mark amongst the florists of Istanbul was Karabalizade (d. 1535); he taught floriculture techniques at the private school he established in his garden. Aşki was a contemporary of Karabalizade and had a janissary background. Aşki's flower garden near the sea in Ãœsküdar was considered a heavenly plot of land where the youth would congregate and socialize. The handwritten work ŞÃ¼kûfe-i Musavvere elaborates on the importance of flowers and floriculture in Istanbul, stating “Flowers are yet another example of His benefaction to His subjects. It is with flowers that our senses, our soul, and the rest of our inner being finds happiness. Great sheikhs, learned scholars, and respectable gentlemen have always shown a sincere love for flowers. Floriculture was an industry in its own right come the second half of the 16th century when Istanbul was experiencing the historical pinnacle of its grandeur and might. 300,000 tulip bulbs were brought in from Caffa in Crimea in 1570. 500,000 hyacinth bulbs were brought from Aleppo in 1579 and were transplanted into palace gardens in Istanbul such as the Çinili Mansion. Another royal edict ordered rose saplings to be sent from Edirne to be planted in old palaces. Ahmed I and his viziers had personally planted flowers in newly-decreed imperial gardens on the shores of The Golden Horn at the turn of the 17th century. The flowers of choice during this period were the tulip, hyacinth, daffodil, rose, violet, and the peony. The Bostancı Corps master gardeners oversaw the floricultural activity in imperial gardens like the Sultaniye, Kule, Tersane, Tokat, Iskenderçelebi, and Karabali. These gardeners also sold a part of the flowers they grew for sustenance. Flowers from the palace gardens would be sold by 17 shops, all members of their specific guild. Some greenhouses were legendary for their size and beauty, such the greenhouses on the estates of individuals such as Ahmed Fethi Pasha and Halil Pasha, brothers-in-law to Abdülmecid I, the Armenian-Ottoman Düzyan Family, Hekimbaşı Mustafa Behçet Efendi in Bebek, Tahir Pasha in Baltalimanı, Mustafa Nuri Pasha in Vaniköy, and Suphipaşazade Sami in Kandilli. Another Istanbul tradition was the flower exhibitions organized annually. Flowers would be classified as “top prime†and “low prime†and the best growers rewarded for their skill and efforts. The poets of the time would also pen laudatory praises for runner-ups in their odes to spring. Istanbul households grew hybrid roses for their domestic syrup and jam needs. The Balıkhane Minister Ali Rıza Bey presided over the central establishment for the marketing and taxation of seafood mentions cabbage roses being cultivated in the fields of the Eyüp district, and the rose market in the Yavedud neighborhood that opened at dawn and continued throughout the rose season. During the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror , the gardens east and west of Topkapı Palace were cultivated for red roses and alba roses for the needs of the palace kitchens. This is why this area in modern Istanbul is referred to as Gülhane, or, loosely translated into English, as the place of roses. It is known that rose water and a rose petal preserve (gülbeşeker) were made for use in the palace. The royal decree of 1592 ordering rose saplings sent from Edirne to the gardens of Istanbul palaces clearly shows a significant amount of roses being cultivated in palace gardens during the 16th century. After floriculture became a common denominator of Istanbul's populace, the phenomenon transformed into a widespread form of art and a formidable industry. It is interesting to note that a form of floral institute was created during the reign of Mehmed IV (1648-1687), referred to as Meclis-i ŞÃ¼kufe. Mehmet Remzi Efendi's handwritten work, Mizanü'l-Ezhar, has detailed information on a flower committee. Chaired by Çiçekbaşı Solakzade Çelebi, this committee boasted the best flower experts and aficionados of the day, inluding Tezkireci Memikzade, Hacı Mehmed Efendi, Defterdarzade Ibrahimpaşazade Mehmed, Zeki Ali Efendi, Arif Efendi, Eyüplü Veli Efendi, Yıldızzade Çelebi, and Davudpaşazade. They would engage in both amiable conversations and painstaking debates over the physical characteristics of new hybrids, eventually placing monetary values on the new flowers and naming them. Fındıklı was the closest countryside resort to Istanbul in the 17th century, with its lavish gardens and other recreational areas. The neighborhood had gotten its name from the fact that it was covered in hazelnut trees. The fact that the gardens of Şeyhü'l-Vüzera (the eldest vizier) Namık Pasha had one gate at Fındıklı and another one at Kabataş attests to the size of the gardens of past Istanbul. These gardens had served Abdülhamid II and three other sultans before him. Since the Fındıklı and Kabataş gates were fitted on elevated platforms, carriages would enter the park through the Ayaspasa entrance and reach the Selamlık, the garden for men, via the path flanked with grape vines, various fruits, and the gardens of the Head Eunuch. The harem grounds were also known as the Garden of Full Moons because a full moon looked exceptionally beautiful here. There was the gardens of Yahya Efendi in Beşiktaş that were so delightful that the premises were converted into a public promenade. Yahya Efendi had migrated from Trabzon at the turn of the 16th century and built a house in the garden he bought. After a while he had denounced all material things and severed his worldly ties, eventually founding a dervish lodge. Bebek was a large forest of Mediterranean cypress trees during Byzantines times. Bebek was the apple of every sultan's eye; Mehmed the Conqueror appointed an individual named Bebek Çelebi as the bölükbaşı of the area, whose job was to maintain law and order on the land. The garden established by Bebek Çelebi was such a success that it was ultimately included amongst the elite imperial gardens. Mustafa Reşit Pasha owned a very spacious garden in Baltalimanı-the area where the modern Baltalimanı Bone Diseases Education and Research Hospital. The garden featured chambers for the sovereign at the edge of the premises and an orchard that stretched over the fields of current day Baltalimanı. The gardens of Nişancı Feridun in Emirgan were also very well-known with its Persian-style palace. The grounds were bestowed upon Emirguneoğlu by Murad IV. The gardens of Nişancı Feridun are known today as the Emirgan Grove, resplendent in various shades of green predominantly from the multitude of Mediterranean cypress trees in the enclosed woods. The imperial gardens of Yeniköy were also extremely famous and is additionally noteworthy for Suleiman the Magnificent personally dabbled in gardening on these grounds. The stretch of shore between Istinye and Yeniköy was lined with many manors, all with robust gardens. The Kalender garden was to be found a short distance from Yeniköy; at that point, the majority demographic of Tarabya was the Rum (the descendents of Roman-Byzantines). Tarabya was also the summer retreat of Mahmud II, home to the summer palace and manor of the sovereign. Other gardens of good repute were found in Sarıyer, Beykoz, Çubuklu, and Kanlıca. The Saffet Pasha Vineyard between the Kanlıca Dervish Lodge and the pier gained favorable recognition in its day, as well as the flower and vegetable gardens around the Saffet Pasha Manor perched on the highest elevation of the grove. There was an imperial garden in the Göksu Meadow at the end of the 16th century where 66 gardeners plied their trade under the supervision of a head gardener. Murad IV had a special bond with the Göksu Meadow; the sultan ordered landscaping around the edges of the brook and further beautified the gardens already plush with Mediterranean cypress trees. In Kandilli one could find manors with gardens that belonged to Ottoman sovereigns. These structures were built on a series of terraces placed on solid rock and were bedecked with tulips and hyacinths. Murad IV was overjoyed at the issue of an heir upon returning from the Revan Campaign (modern Yerevan). The birth took place in Nevabad Manor, upon which the sultan had a handsome Mediterranean cypress tree in the manor gardens adorned with many lamps for seven days and seven nights. From that point on, the grounds were known as the Kandilli Garden; “kandil†meaning “lamp†in Turkish. Suleiman the Magnificent had a palace and gardens adjacent to the current day Kuleli Military High School. The imperial gardens of this palace were referred to as Narlı Bahçe-it is rumored that Suleiman the Magnificent personally planted trees and saplings in this garden. The Şevkabad Manor was constructed in the imperial Istavroz garden during the reign of Ahmed I at the beginning of the 17th century. The Istavroz garden gained massive acclaim during the reign of Mehmed IV, especially in the cherry season. The term “Kavak Sarayı†encompassed all the manors and imperial gardens between the Salacak and Harem districts that belonged to Ottoman sultans, and is collectively referred to as the Ãœsküdar Haşbahçesi (the Ãœsküdar Imperial Gardens). These premises predominantly laden with pines and Mediterranean cypress trees. It should be noted that this garden was also cultivated for vegetables, making it more than just an aesthetic figurehead. The tulip lent its name and served as the symbol of an era in the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and the 18th centuries, especially during the reign of Ahmed III. Istanbul was the center for around 2,000 different types of tulip that were crossbred in this era by the careful selection and hybridization of wild tulips. Historically known as the Lale-i Rumi, it is particularly sad that not one Istanbul tulip (Tulipa acuminata) can be found in Istanbul today. Ahmed III and his grand vizier Nevşehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha were very much taken by the laudatory accounts of Çelebi Mehmet Efendi after his trip to France, visiting the Versailles and inspecting its opulent gardens during the reign of Louis XIV. The sultan and his grand vizier commissioned various palaces and manors on the shores of the Bosphorus Straits and The Golden Horn. The Sâ'dabad Palace is unquestionably the best known of these palaces and manors. Built in just 60 days, the palace boasted a mosque in addition to miniature waterfalls and ornate fountains. The lengthy grass lawns were peppered with tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus flowers. Also worthy of note are the hunting lodges and manorial gardens constructed in close vicinity of Istanbul such as the Vidos Imperial Gardens, the Halkalı Imperial Gardens, and the Harami Garden. The imperial manor and its sprawling gardens commissioned by Davud Pasha, grand vizier to Beyazıd II, was built for the dual purpose of bidding farewell to the army departing for military campaigns, and welcoming those returning from war. The manor was not only an architectural monument; it was appointed with necessary amenities to provide overnight quarters for the Ottoman ruling class. The imperial gardens in this area eventually became to be known as the Davutpaşa Garden and gained fame as such. Ahmed Ubeydi Efendi was the imam of the Cerrahpaşa Mosque at the beginning of the 18th century and named different types of tulips and daffodils bred by the şÃ¼kûfe (individuals who named flowers). He points to the Sheikh ul-Islam of the day, Ebussuud Efendi, as the oldest tulip breeder in Istanbul. It is not surprising, then, that the first tulip went on record as the Nûr-ı Adn (Light of Heaven). It is possible that the 1,108 types of tulip registered in Defter-i Lalezâr-ı Istanbul (the book of tulips of Istanbul) were available in Ãœsküdar's Çiçekçi quarter-“çiçek†means “flower†in Turkish. An Istanbul tradition of the day was to send floral arrangements along with the customary candy and fruit baskets to weddings, celebrations, and religious holidays. This particular tradition was also observed by the Ottoman hierarchy; the presents sent by the groom to the palace celebrating the marriage of Şah Sultan and Nişancı Emin Pasha included candy baskets, 15 platters of dried fruits, 40 baskets of fresh fruits, and 10 platters of flowers. D'Ohsson states that upper class Ottomans presented flowers to each other on every occasion possible, and that the grand vizier sent valuable flowers to the imperial seraglio as part of state protocol. Flowers and floriculture in general affected Istanbul life in a multitude of ways. The science of flowers, fenn-i ezhar, was ahead of European floriculture for quite a long time. The wide-ranging floral business in Istanbul was a respectable industry in its own right and had a direct effect on daily life, Divan poetry, and the music in Ottoman palaces. It additionally served as an inspiration for the art of hat (Ottoman calligraphy), tezhip (the art of embellishing handwritten books with glitter and paint), bookbinding, decorating, and weaving. Floriculture also had varying degrees of influence over çinicilik (the local ceramic industry that, unlike other ceramics manufacturers, used kaolin-type clays in their production process), the billuriye (glass and crystal), engravers, and woodworks. Homes of the wealthy reflected the floral passion they felt and were rich in gardens that housed specific areas such as the lalezâr (a tulip garden), gülzâr (a rose garden), yaseminlik (a jasmine garden), kameriye (a gazebo), bahçe odası (a garden room), and the limonluk (a lemon grove). Inner spaces were decorated with pots and vases utilizing the seasonal selection of flowers. Various floral arrangements were painted on civilian walls in keeping with palace practices. Another pleasure of upper class Ottomans was to affix a seasonal flower on their turbans. There were doyen florists in different periods in the history of Istanbul that solely depended on this particular phenomenon to make a living. Uzun Ahmed lived in the beginning of the 18th century and was an expert in tulips and hyacinths. His contemporaries Eyüp Efendizade Hüseyin Ağa and Bakizade Mehmed Efendi were both involved in breeding new tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and a daffodil hybrid named zerrin. Belgradi Ahmed Kâmil Efendi classified the origins of flowers in Lale Risalesi, a booklet on tulips. The daffodil hybrid created early 18th century by the female flower enthusiast Azizi Hatun was christened as Aziz-î Süleymanî. In a similar vein, her contemporary Fatma Hatun hybridized the famous Tulipa gesneriana which became known in Ottoman Crete as the Cretan Tulip. Two and a half centuries ago when the botanical taxonomy of Swedish natural scientist Carolus Linnaeus started spreading around the world. The first modern research on the flora of Turkey was performed at the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane (the Imperial School of Medicine) which was established in Istanbul during the Reform Period that began in 1839. The pharmacist Friedrich Wilhelm Noë (1798-1858) served in the Imperial School of Medicine and eventually authored Flora Orientalis, a volume on the flora he collected during field research trips in Anatolia. It can be said the first ever botanical gardens in Istanbul were formed under the umbrella of the Imperial School of Medicine in Galatasaray by the German (Prussian?) pharmacist F. W. Noë and Austrian scientist Dr. C. A. Bernard (1808-1844). The Takvim-i Vekayi newspaper reported that Mahmud II personally inspected the newly-finished botanical gardens on 14 May 1839 after officially opening the Imperial School of Medicine on the same day. Six years on, the first herbarium in Istanbul was established under the name Herbier de l'Ecole Impériale de Médecine de Galata Sérai, again by the German (Prussian?) pharmacist F. W. Noë in 1845. The Imperial School of Medicine was regrettably lost on 11 October 1845 when a fire started nearby and could not be extinguished. The flames eventually engulfed the school, wiping out the first botanical gardens of Istanbul. The French poet Alphonse de Lamartine travelled to Istanbul in 1846 as a personal guest of Abdülmecid I and was given quarters in the modern day Ihlamur Manor-the manor grounds were then known as the Orchard of Hacı Hüseyin and yielded both vegetables and fruit. The Imperial School of Medicine was relocated to the old Gülhane Barracks adjacent to the Sirkeci Train Station in 1877. The botanist Dr Mehmet Ali Pasha (1894-1914) established a little botanical garden on these small premises with the assistance of his deputy Dr Esat Şerafettin Köprülü. This garden was abandoned in 1892 when the school was transferred to the Kadırga area. Eventually the school moved to the Menemenli Mustafa Paşa Manor, where the leading botanist of the day Dr Esat Şerafettin Köprülü (1867-1942) reestablished the institution. Both the Military School of Medicine and the Civilian School of Medicine relocated to the Haydarpaşa area for higher studies in medicine in 1903 and 1909 respectively. Dr Esat Şerafettin Köprülü was appointed as the botany professor of the institution. The current day Çiçek Pasajı (literally the Flower Arcade) is also known as Le Passage de la Fleur. The arcade was erected after the great Beyoğlu fire of 1870 and was financed by the banker Hristaki Zografos Efendi. It was originally named Cité de Pera, or Hristaki Arcade, and was built on the plot right across Galatasaray where the Naum Theater was before it was destroyed. A few florists opened shops in the arcade during the volatile years of the Armistice of Mudros in 1918; in time, the arcade flourished into a full-blown flower market and thus transformed into the Çiçek Pasajı. The famous Degüstasyon Restaurant was located on the same street as the Çiçek Pasajı. In the 1930s the restaurant began opening its inward-facing doors during the summer months, placing tables in the middle of the area and once again enlivening the arcade. “Kanto†are solo or duet songs sung by female artists between acts of the Turkish Tuluat theater, the equivalent of improvisational theater. Actresses Madame Şamram and Madame Kamelya would recite the following kanto from Madame Peruz: “I deal in flowers my dear / I am a very tender sapling / my soul is of rose, my hair of hyacinth / a libertine with bangs of gold / musky magnolias / tired old gazebos / without pinning flowers on their lapels / gentlemen never leave for balls / how seductive and charming is that mademoiselle / she is the prettiest of the ball.†Nonetheless floriculture continually lost its importance in the 19th century and slowly became the domain of Albanian gardeners and gypsies. There were four manor gardens in Istanbul in the 19th century that were famous for their rare fruits and vegetables; these manors and their respective gardens were all owned by chief medical professionals known in the singular as the hekimbaşı. Three of these manors were situated in Bebek and were the property of Mustafa Behçet, Abdülhak Molla, and Hayrullah Efendi. The other manor was located in the vicinity of Akçahisar Castle, aka the Anatolian Castle, and owned by Salih Efendi. Hekimbaşı Salih Efendi (1816-1895) was one of the first graduates of the Imperial School of Medicine; upon his graduation in 1843 he served as a professor of botany in numerous schools of medicine. Salih Efendi grew such highly-acclaimed fruits and vegetables that some of his products were referred to in conjunction with his official title: the Hekimbaşı Cherry and the Hekimbaşı Pear. The famed gardens of Hekimbaşı Salih Efendi employed 60 gardeners in its heyday and offered the choicest flowers and fruits to be found. Today, these fertile grounds are covered with tangles of shrubbery. University education was overhauled with the reforms in higher education that were enacted in 1933, ten years after the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey. Simultaneously, tenured professors Dr. A. Heilbronn (1885-1961) and Dr. L. Brauner (1898-1974) were appointed to the Istanbul University as resident botany professors. Heilbronn had graduate students focus on local and medicinal flora and published Pharmakognostische Monographien Türkischer Arzneipflanzen. Heilbronn also bequeathed a portion of the plants he collected during his field studies to the 11-volume compilation, Flora of Turkey. He is also the founder of the Science Faculty Botanical Garden in modern Süleymaniye. Groundbreaking began in 1936 when botany specialists started bringing various plants to Turkey from different geographies, thus creating an outdoor research laboratory. The same year Heilbronn authored and published a catalog together with Brauner and horticulture specialist Walter Stephan. The catalog recorded the names of 99 plants from 49 families. The botanical garden in Süleymaniye is the oldest of its kind in Istanbul that is still open. In 1964, Prof. Dr. Asuman Baytop was appointed to chair the newly-formed Department of Pharmaceutical Botany at the Istanbul University; a duty she aptly discharged for many years, contributing immensely to the knowledge on the flora of Turkey. This collection with around 80,000 plants became the most comprehensive herbarium in Turkey. Prof. Dr. Hayrettin Kayacık of Istanbul University's Faculty of Forestry was the first scholar to propose the idea of an arboretum in 1949. He invited Camille Guinet, an inspector for Sorbonne University's botanical gardens, to conduct research on the 38 hectares to the southeast of the Belgrad Forest. Guinet studied the issue between 1959-1961 and finished the general plan of the arboretum at the end of this period. The floral industry in Istanbul was revitalized yet again in the mid-20th century. An association of florists was chartered in 1952. In 1964, the industry was segmented into those selling cut flowers and those who transacted business in live flowers and seeds. The unofficial headquarters for florists selling live plants and seeds is still located in the Flower Bazaar adjacent to the Egyptian Bazaar. The Flower Bazaar is in the Eminönü district, in the Çelebioğlu Alaeddin quarter. The Flower Bazaar dates back to the Tulip Era, a period of decline for the Ottoman Empire; this bazaar was built where the Grand Vizier Nevşehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha operated a helva (a local delicacy) shop in his youth. There were 22 operational shops in the Flower Bazaar during 1964; the best known businessmen in the industry were Hristo Piliçoğlu and his brother Istrati Piliçoğlu, with half a century's worth of experience as florists. Later on, the brother Hüseyin and Tahir Gülerler formed an association of florists and passed on all the accumulated knowledge on floriculture to future generations. Festivals with spring and floral themes were common in the Istanbul of the 1950s. Events would be held at Gülhane Park, events which after the 1980s were consolidated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality as the Gülhane Festival.