Gülhane Park

Once the outer garden of Topkapı Palace, this historic public park occupies the slope below the palace walls at the tip of the old city peninsula. Opened to the public in the early republican era, it is among Istanbul's oldest and most central green spaces, planted with roses, tulips and shade trees along broad walkways. A terrace at its far end offers panoramic views over the meeting of the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. In spring the tulip beds bloom vividly, recalling the flower's deep Ottoman associations.