When most people think of tulips, they think of them originating from Holland, when in fact tulips are native to Central Asia and Turkey⁴. Tulips noted by the Turks in Anatolia were first cultivated by the Turks as early as the 11^th century². The botanical name, Tulipa, is derived from the Turkish word “turban”, which the tulip flower resembles.  Many cultivated varieties of tulips were widely grown in Turkey long before they were introduced to European gardens in the 16^th century and quickly became popular⁴. Although the Dutch Tulipomania is the most famous, the first tulip mania occurred in the 16^th century in Turkey. Tulip blooms became highly cultivated, and coveted, for the pleasure of the Sultan and his followers. The Turks had strict laws governing the cultivation and sale of tulips; buying or selling tulips outside the capital was a crime punished by banishment³.

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