Tulip professionalists gather in Istanbul

The 5th World Tulip Summit, which was previously organized in Canada, Australia, England and the United States, is being held in Istanbul's Halic Congress Center this year. The summit, which started yesterday, is being attended by nearly 300 delegates from 11 countries. "The tulip, which returned to its homeland through the efforts of Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas, is now exported from Turkey to the Netherlands, the world's flower production center," said the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The summit is being held with the attendance of delegates from the United States, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, South Korea, the Netherlands, Italy, Uzbekistan and Turkey, as well as many horticulturists and gardeners. The theme of the summit is "the tulip in nature, history and art." Among the speakers in the event include Professor Deniz Calis Kural of Bilgi University; Dutch photographer Eric Breed; art historian and architect Professor Gul Irepoglu; the head of the International Festivals Union Professor Jeong Gang Hoan; Istanbul Municipality official Mehmet Ihsan Simsek; Istanbul University Professor Neriman Ozhatay; Central Connecticut State University member Professor Richard Benfield; Horticultural Manager at the Royal Botanic Gardens Richard Wilford and tulip designer Ronald van der Hilst. The two-day summit will end today.