Some friends went over to Holland recently and said I could
use a few of their photos … and show you round … and as it’s tulip time – why not ….
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| Keukenhof Castle |
Tulips have embraced our writers, artists and even cocktails …
entrepreneurs created huge wealth then perhaps lost fortunes … but the bulbs
were adored and prized by the Turks long before Europeans caught the bug.
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| The world famous Keukenhof Gardens |
The great poet Omar Khayyam waxed lyrical about them in the 12th
century … it was only in the 1600s that tulips first appeared in our part of
the world …
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| Charles de l'Ecluse |
… the French botanist, Charles de l’Ecluse (1526 – 1609) began
hybridizing a variety of bulbs, including the tulip – that led to these objects
of desire reaching their zenith …
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| Delftware Tulip vase |
... including special tulip vases with which to
show off each delightful bloom …
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| Judith Leyster - self-portrait (1633) |
The Rembrandt
tulips ring out to us … yet it appears that Rembrandt never painted tulips –
the name we should acknowledge is Judith Leyster (1609 – 1660) … who is known
for her gorgeous artworks.
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| Tulip Zomerschoon by Judith Leyster |
The Rembrandt Tulip: Tulipa
‘Zomerschoon’ is a name … but what a tulip … the only one surviving today –
yet the title ‘Rembrandt tulip’ refers
to the range of blooms with a bizarre play of colours in the petals … these
were the most desired in the 1600s …
… those streaky tulips were caused by a virus, whose bulbs
were exploited to produce the range of colours and shapes that we see today …
it can take 15 – 20 years to ‘set’ a new bulb …
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| Black Parrot Tulip |
The goal of re-creating the legendary Black Tulip is getting
closer through the 'Queen of the Night', 'Black Parrot' and 'Black Hero' ...
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| Resting lad from the Silversmith's workshop |
... but we
await the vagaries of a diseased bulb giving us a true ‘La Tulipe Noire’ …
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| Working Silversmith |
The parrot tulips with their ruffled feather-like petals date
back to the 1620s … which give us our huge range of choice today … over 3,000
different tulips.
Schoonhoven, through which the canal travelled, is the area where the Silversmiths are found, together with the Silver Museum.
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| Typical Dutch moorings at Doordrecht |
While we travel the canals, note interesting areas and visit
Keukenhof – where over 7 million bulbs are annually planted out – no wonder the
“Garden of Europe” is so popular with
everyone.
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| Ice-cream anyone? |
Let’s enjoy a Tulip cocktail as we wend our way along the
canals meandering through the loops and twists of a waterway … or perhaps even - one of these?
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| Interesting window - with real basking creatures, some decorative ones and of course the very reason for the window! |
... stopping occasionally
to eye-spy interesting, thought provoking imagery as we go …
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| Tulip Cocktail |
Here’s to your Tulip Cocktail: made with Lemon Juice, Apricot Brandy, Sweet Vermouth and Calvados … shake with ice, strain and serve …
Tulips from Amsterdam by Max Bygraves …
When it’s Spring again I’ll bring again
Tulips from Amsterdam …
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
74 comments:
I refer to bulb catalogues as garden pornography. And succumb every time. Not just to tulips either...
Love the basking cats, who would certainly tell you that they are the reason for the window display.
Different colors of tulips. Thanks for sharing.
I love tulips. I recently covered a tattoo with vines and roses. I wanted tulips, but the artist said they were harder than roses. I'm thinking butterfly's and humingbirds will make anything beautiful ;)
Interesting items on todays blog Hilary.
Pussies basking in the window and high ice cream m'mmm :)
I love tulips, especially yellow ones - so cheerful and they always seem to smile at me :) A wonderful post filled with delightful pictures. I love the castle set against the clear blue sky. Very inspirational. The things that could have happened in there. I'd love the tower bedroom :) Thank you so much for sharing, Hilary.
I like tulips too, but I've never seen one of the growers fields. There is a similar place with vast fields of tulips in Washington, but I can't remember the name of the town. Colours preferred: red, and I like the traditional shape and the ruffled, multiple layers shapes. I planted the dark tulips one year but found them very somber, so didn't like them much.
I love tulips and as usual your blog teaches me plenty that I don't know. I've admired Judith Leyster's paintings for some time but had never seen her tulip sketch - it's delightful. Thank you Hilary.
The Netherlands are the tulip country and the tulips are so cheap ! I have visited Keukenhof it's a very beautiful place !
I love tulips. Last week I tweeted a photo of a lovely white tulip with lavender edges by the kitchen door. We also have a pot of black tulips there but I'm not sure that they're legendary!
@ EC – yes I too love looking through catalogues for plants and bulbs … as I don’t have a garden it is purely for eye candy! I’m sure the cats would make sure I knew they were the focal point in the window!
@ Weekend-Windup .. glad you enjoyed …
@ Donna – oooh a tattoo – well that’s great, but a pity you couldn’t have had your tulip … and yes butterflies and hummingbirds will add to a plants beauty …
@ Mel – yes the pictures led the way to a point ... but the tulips are really the main focus … cats in windows with underwear and ‘high’ ice-cream … a good mix I thought …
@ Nicola – I’ve got the red and yellow striped ones here. So glad you enjoyed the post with the photos … walls with memories that won’t divulge! And what a vista over the parkland …
@ DG – we have fields of them here in East Anglia – but I’ve yet to get to Keukenhof .. so this was a tempter for me to remember a place to visit. Their distinctive colours are quite extraordinary aren’t they … and yes I love the scarlet red, but the sombre brooding almost black can be special against a silvery green background … we found dark chocolate scented cosmos on my return from South Africa – it was chocolate scented too …
Great fields of plants are so wonderful to see …
@ Melody – thank you for visiting ..
@ Juliet – interesting that you know Judith Leyster’s paintings ... I hadn’t come across her … but I’m glad the tulip sketch was new to you. Tulips have such an interesting history …
@ Gattina – the Netherlands are tulip country aren’t they … and so close to you – I’d love to visit one day … I’m sure I will …
@ Ros – they are magnificent at this time of year … there are a few beds here where the flowers are at their best – only a few, but beautiful none-the-less … Excellent you’ve a pot of ‘black’ tulips – they must be lovely, even if not legendary …
Thanks everyone – tulips are proving a success … cheers Hilary
What fun pictures. I love tulips and mine have just been blooming here in Michigan. I love flowers in general and am getting super excited to plant mine this week.
Tulips are coming to a close here. I went to a tulip festival with my daughter and we really went to eat the Dutch pastries.A town to the south does this every year, so it is a tradition to attend.
Exploiting tulips - that just sounds wrong.
Pot ice cream - no thanks.
Looking at tulips is one of my favorite spring activities.
The tulip is my favorite flower. I bet those cats think that the display window exists especially for them.
Love,
Janie
We were in Amsterdam last year and in general we were disappointed with it! So much more to see in our area, and without having to put up with the druggy smell from most cafes!
We bought a lot of bulbs and other plants and mostly they have all been pretty useless with very few growing. Normally anything I put into the garden grows but not from Amsterdam! One single 'black' tulip seems to have survived but it makes it an expensive tulip when we consider how much we spent on plants!
Never the less I love your post and I look forward to a really black tulip :-)
Take care Diane
excellent post. I enjoyed this little Saturday morning jaunt to Holland. Tulips are just so pretty and so fleeting.
I'm more of a daffodil girl, so I didn't know any of this. What a lovely and interesting piece about tulips and what's going on in their world. Those fields of tulips in the Netherlands must be something wonderful to see and expereince.
Tulips are lovely flowers. I'd love to see Holland during tulip time. And that tulip vase is neat!
More revived memories Hilary. We used to sail the canals of Holland quite a lot when I was young. I have many happy memories of the country. Interesting history of tulips. I heard somewhere that they came from Turkey before, but had forgotten. I don't remember seeing or hearing of the Keukenhof gardens though. I would love to visit them. But then I lived quite close to Kew Gardens once and never went there!!!
Hi Hilary. I believe that there was a period of Tulip Mania in the Dutch Golden Age, (seventeenth century) when, like a rare commodity, the prices became phenomenally high - and then crashed and burst like a bubble! Also, I realise that there were many very talented female artists in the past who got no proper recognition such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassat and my favourite: Berthe Morisot.
CLICK HERE for Bazza’s fabulous Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
I have visited Keukenhof a looong time ago, simply love tulips, such lovely flowers! As usual learnt a lot of new facts from your post about them. Love also that they break into tu-lips, so evocative!
Oh what a delightful post for the tulip lover I am. I think I must add a trip to the Netherlands to my bucket list. And of course I'd want to see the underpinnings shop with the furry sales ataff. The idea of pot ice cream strikes me as hilarious. I wonder what truck you turn to next after the ice cream gives you the munchies.
Fascinating study Hilary and interesting history. I've heard about the mysterious black tulip.
Got me laughing about the Cannabis Ice Cream and the window shopping . . lol
Did I read once that tulips were an accepted currency sometime in history?
I have been away too long and please accept my apologies. I will have a look back at previous posts to see what I have missed. Have a good weekend. Cheers, Eddie . . . :)
I love tulips, especially the parrot varieties. But a tulip cocktail? And cannabis ice cream? Wow, doesn't that beat all?
Have a super weekend. Cheers!
interesting to know a 'virus' causes variegations that are then expounded on. :)
Wow, that tulip vase (blue and white) is amazing! I've never seen one of those before!
@ Natalie – that’s wonderful to hear yours are blooming in Michigan and next week is planting time for your other seedlings – enjoy …
@ Steve – they are dependent on the vagaries of the weather and if they come early, aren’t around that long – ours are doing quite well – the weather this year is suiting them.
Your tulip festival sounds a lovely idea ... what a fun day out with your daughter …
@ Alex – it happened and many a story has sprung from the tulips of Amsterdam. I know – couldn’t resist including the ice-cream selection!
@ Holly – just watching all the wonderful bulbs and spring plants appear giving us the amazing new landscapes for the year ahead – lovely isn’t it …
@ Janie – good to see you … tulips are a delight. I bet the cats know they’re in the right place!
@ Diane – oh I’m sorry Amsterdam disappointed, then the druggy smell from the cafes – hadn’t thought of that … and it’s a place I’d like to go to sometime.
You do seem to have brilliant green fingers – so to find the bulbs you bought and planted didn’t work is such a pity – yes one ‘black’ tulip does not really make up for a fortune lost.
Delighted the post passed muster though …
@ Joanne – wonderful to read … such a great comment – thank you.
@ Inger – daffodils are such a relief when they appear after a gloomy winter … but I love the range of colour of tulips. These photos and the canal cruise is possibly something I’d enjoy – but I’d want to stop too often … to look further.
@ Chyrs – wouldn’t it be fun to see Keukenhof in full tulip flow … those special tulip vases give us a glimpse back into time …
@ Jo – more memories for you ... I’m sure you traversed the canals in Holland with your parents. Tulips did come out of Persia and Turkey … Keukenhof is one of those amazing gardens to be visited … Kew too – and I must get to Kew for a longer visit one day … especially now it’s been refurbished.
@ Bazza – there was ‘tulip mania’ in the 17th century – I was keeping this post more general, knowing that friends would add to the story line …
Thanks for the note on female artists and their names Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Cassat and your favourite Berthe Morisot … I shall look them up …
@ Nila – how lucky you are to have visited Keukenhof … and I’m glad I added to your knowledge … I learnt from you about the tu-lips!
@ Deborah – great the post is just for you! Definitely add the Netherlands to your bucket list … I’m sure the furry sales staff will be so happy to see you: lovely description you give us. I couldn’t resist putting in the pot ice-cream van – I knew bloggers would be commenting. I guess you’d turn back to the cocktail ice-creams … but keep well away from the canals!
@ Eddie – good to see you. The lore of tulip mania lives on – those were the days when you could use tulips as currency … I’m sure that would have been the case.
Alexandre Dumas published the historical novel called The Black Tulip in 1850 … about the period of Tulip Mania … and it has been regularly converted into film, tv mini-series, and even a musical.
Thanks for going to look through my previous posts …
@ Susan – yes the parrot tulips entice me too; Tulip cocktail, cannabis ice-cream … just add to the story line … good to see you …
@ Theresa – I was interested to know that a virus caused the varieties to be developed – obviously a good virus .. thankfully.
@ Scarlett – there are other taller tulip vases … they are extraordinary … I’d love to see one with tulips gracing it ..
Good to see you all – have happy rest of the weekends – cheers Hilary
Tulips are actually my favourite flowers. So, thanks for the post. :-)
Greetings from London.
i always smile reading your posts - informative and surprising (what a funny window dressing!)
and i'll take one of those tasty tulip cocktails, please!
what a pleasure it would be to join you on one of your jaunts! someday...
LOL! That window display had me laughing! How uncommon! That garden is just beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Lovely tulips and what colors. Thanks for sharing Hilary. And window shopping is always fun. isn't it?
I love the look on Judith's face. She looks pleased with herself. She had great talent. The cat in the left-hand side looks like our late Fluffy. He was a very handsome. I love tulips. Thanks, Hilary.
I love the kitties in the window. They are adorable and cheeky:) Tulips are a beautiful flower. Though, I didn't think new bulbs could take so long to flourish. Definitely learned something new, thank you. Beautiful photos.
Tulips are a sign of spring. I recently took some pictures of tulips at a local festival. They are gorgeous to view.
What a lovely tulip-infested post Hilary. My one regret when I visited Amsterdam is that it was off season for tulips..but the windmills nearly made up for it! Lovely of your friend to let us travel vicariously with her!
Denise :-)
@ ACIL – tulips do bring Spring more to life with their colours … glad you enjoyed it.
@ Tara - that’s wonderful to know – thank you. And yes a couple of ‘oddities’ to make us all smile … it’s be great if we get something organised … sometime!
@ Cindy – thanks for the visit and the window display I had to put the photo up. The gardens must be glorious …
@ Nas – the tulips are fantastic to see … while window shopping, if one finds these sorts of windows, is an entertainment in itself …
@ Joylene – yes that self-portrait really comes to life doesn’t it … I had to include it … she was a very talented artist. The cats are just fun to see happily sun-bathing! Pleasure …
@ Murees – aren’t the cats just wonderful – oblivious to the world – and as you say cheeky for taking advantage of the window display area. I’m not quite sure what you meant … the bulbs would take the normal time to flower, the developing of a new bloom would take some years … testing and ensuring no rogue colours appear. Glad you learnt something though …
@ Truedessa – certainly Spring is here ... though we’ve had the odd cold blast from the north and east … Tulip festivals must be lovely to attend – so I’m sure you enjoyed your time there …
@ Denise – it’s difficult to fit everything in – especially seasonal timing on occasions ... but good to see the windmills nearly made up for it – their engineering and position in the landscape are a delight ... looking at the few we have here.
Yes – it was great to have a few photos of some different aspects I could use … without having to go across the Channel myself … but now I want to visit!
Cheers to you all – have a wonderful week ahead … Hilary
That black tulip is amazing - I've never seen anything like that. And love that Delft tulip vase.
Tulips of any color are lovely. The kittens in the store window are adorable. I bet the window gets more attention when they are there. Have a great week.
How wonderful all the different types of tulips and how they were created. My tulips have bloomed and withered away already. All mine are Red Emperors. (Fancy name!) Hope you have a lovely week. :)
Amsterdam was the city where I was almost killed by bicycles daily. There are more bicycles there than there are people. That's the truth. Anyway it was a beautiful country and flat, which was interesting for me since I live in a mountainous place and rely on those elevations when I'm lost.
I loved the display window. What are those cats thinking, anyway?
The Kukenhof gardens are gorgeous! Lots of tulips there!
Hello Hilary. Canada has a tulip festival in May the first of which was organized in 1953. The dates are 12-23, 2016 this year.
@ Lynn - isn't the black tulip wonderful - I had to post the image ... I still love seeing them. I'd like to see the Delft vase filled individual stems ... so pretty.
@ Mason - I agree tulips of any colour are just lovely. Aren't the cats in the store just wonderful to see - and yes I'm sure many stop to admire the cats - not sure about the rest!!
@ Christine - the creation of our tulip bulb is interesting to learn about. Sorry your Red Emperors have bloomed and gone - pity - and yes a lovely name.
@ Lee - I'm sure the bicycles are lethal in Holland - I'd get nobbled by them too: and yes it is a very bike-oriented country. Flat as you say ... and we do set our own elevations ... I have to say I never got to grips with Cape Town - despite Table Mountain! Yet I'm usually pretty good at directions etc ...
I think those cats aren't thinking - they be zizzing happily ...
@ Sherry - the Keukenhof Gardens are magnificent and are a huge estates worth ... this was just one quadrangle ...
@ Beste - what fun ... I'd love to visit sometime - well one May anyway. I hope you can visit and enjoy your time at the festival ...
Cheers to you all - gardens, cats, beautiful bulbs ... all a delight to us bloggers - Hilary
My tulips were beautiful this year after the late snowfall cut my other bulbs' lives short. I didn't know the variegated colors were caused by a virus.
I like the streaked tulip. Sounds like a virus did something good.
I know I'm repeating everyone else, but how amazing that the streaky tulips were caused by a virus.
That's as miraculous (in a beauty sense) as mold producing penicillin!
Tulips are so lovely and cheerful. I had no idea how long and involved their history was. Nor did I realize how long it takes to "set" a new bulb. I am grateful for those dedicated to this "cause". Thank you, Hilary, for enlightening us! :)
Love the cats in the window. So entertaining. There isn't a tulip that I don't like. However, they don't seem to last long enough.
That tulip vase is cool. All kinds of flowers would look good in that instead of all in a bunch. Also, the black parrot tulip is lovely. I've never seen those.
@ Susan - it looks like many of us had good tulips this year ... the colder spring helped the bulbs last ... I don't think anyone knew about the virus ... until we learnt more about genes, cells etc ...
@ Nick - the virus tulips were obviously different and much prized ...
@ Dianne - it's a fact the virus allowed us to have stripey and parroty tulip blooms - and they are pretty ... and yes similar to penicillin - that always amazes me ... and Mendel and his peas.
@ Karen - they certainly cheer us - before the bright colours of roses bloom and other wonderful Spring flowers appear.
That setting of a bulb shows us how 'difficult' it must be for gardeners to create new plants or blooms ... using their paint brush to spread the pollen ...
@ Teresa - aren't the cats fun ... I'd have happily stopped to watch them for a while. I agree - tulips are just beautiful ...
@ Shannon - isn't the vase clever - a real Dutch invention for their beloved and very valuable tulips ... and yes we could use it for other sprays of flowers or stems ... the very dark tulips are around here ...
Thanks so much for visiting - it's interesting learning that bit more ..cheers Hilary
Sorry, Hilary - late to the party as always. But what a cracker - thank you! I love tulips, as you know from my blog, but I knew very little about their history until reading this. What tickled me most, though, given that I'm a chuck 'em in a jug and let them grow and droop kind of gal, was the bizarre tulip vase!
Ha! For a second there, I thought your friends visited my town. I'm in a different Holland, and we just wrapped up our giant tulip festival last week.
Tulips are so pretty. I just wish they lasted longer.
I love tulips and your photos! Your commentaries are always enjoyable, informative and much appreciated as well. Have a lovely week!
@ Janice - no worries .. always good to see you. I know you love tulips - I've always loved your banners and photos over the years. Those tulip vases are just wonderful - they mirror the planting of that period - each plant and bloom were revered. But just having them in a jug and letting them do their thing is brilliant - more natural ...
@ Jean - yes Netherlands is our port of call at this time of year - a tourist attraction and I can see why .. Your tulip festival must be glorious too ...
Sometimes tulips last on occasions they don't ... a week max it seems to me .. but leaving them in the ground, with out any rain they can last longer - which is glorious to see ...
@ Connie - many thanks .. and I'm happy you've enjoyed the tour around - I am certainly hooked to visit again ..
Cheers to one and all - happy Wednesdays .. Hilary
oh! I miss tulips. I grew up with a whole garden of them, but they don't grow in Florida. I hadn't realized until this post that it's been 10 years since I've seen tulips in person.
I have never seen those varieties of tulips. Regardless of how they came about, they're sure awesome to behold! I'd love to see them in person.
@ Crystal - I know I missed certain flowers when I was in South Africa, now it's the other way round ... climate I suppose! Wonderful you've lived in a garden full of them ... that I'd love ... I hope you get your tulip fix soon!
@ Rosey - aren't they delightful to see ... and I love the tulips we see around now ... and I too hope you can get a fix on some tulips sometime soon ...
Cheers Hilary
I never knew all those things related to tulips. Very interesting.
Here's to tulips indeed. They are my very favorite. One of the few flowers I knew by name in my childhood. Love the Rembrandt tulip. So stunning to see photographs of tulips enmasse. What a beautiful trip you've taken us on ... through a kind of tulip heaven. Thank you, dear friend. xxxooo from me and Jen. Hope you're having a wonderful week.
Beautiful! I remember bringing back bulbs went I last visited Holland, but I only got a couple of the tulips to grow.
Having a hoard of Dutch cousins, I'm a regular visitor to Holland and I love nothing more than visiting Keukenhof.
Holland is the home of flowers and the annual flower festival each June in Aalsmeer is something everybody who loves blooms should witness at least once in their lifetime!
Sorry I've been absent for a while Hilary- too much to do, too little time! But I'm gradually getting back into writing and reading.
Visit Keith's Ramblings
I have never heard of the Tulip Cocktail- but I would love to try one. :)
Tulips are so pretty and always make me think of spring. So many different varieties! I learned a lot here- so thanks for sharing the pictures and facts. :)
~Jess
@ Rhonda - good to see you and to know the tulip information was interesting.
@ Ann- they are lovely aren't they ... I don't think we had them as I grew up ... but it was good to write up the story of them here. I was glad to have some extra photos for 'the journey' ...
@ Mark - it seems some of the bulbs don't work .. as per Diane from France above ... but I'm glad you enjoyed the visit ...
@ Keith - no worries ... life catches us up at times. How lovely that you can go over quite regularly and see the flowers in Keukenhof and at Aalsmeer - - that I hadn't heard about ... so another festival to visit.
@ Jess - Tulip cocktail .. it'd knock me out -but I'd like a taste of yours! They are so pretty -we've some wonderful ones here that are lasting in the cooler weather ...
Thanks so much - just glad you enjoyed the brief history ... cheers Hilary
I had no idea it was caused by a virus. You learn something new every day! I was blessed to visit Holland during tulip season. Nothing short of amazing. How I wish I had pictures as beautiful as these but it was twenty years ago...so the quality isn't nearly as good. But, still, it was fun and gorgeous.
I didn't know that tulips were popular in Turkey long before they ended up in other parts of the world. Interesting!
Love the real cats in the shop window. I would go to that store just because of the kitties.
Hope you are well, Hilary. :)
Hi human, Hilary,
Arf and I've finally arrived at your highly informative blog.
There's a lot more to tulips than meets the eye. This was, as paw usual, an in-depth pawst by your good human self.
I think my human, Gary, has been having some ice cream form that ice cream truck.
Thank you and have a lovely weekend.
Pawsitive wishes,
Penny
That statue of the "resting lad" looks like me after eating a pint of ice cream :)
Hi Elsie - it's an interesting quirk of fate - the tulip virus. Gosh how lucky for you to have visited ... even if your photos aren't quite so good now with the digital versions available ... you've actually been .. and I'm sure it was fun and gorgeous.
@ Julie - good to see you ... yes so many things came in from Persia or via Persia - that we think of as common now. Aren't the cats fun - they bemused me too - and I bet they call a few shoppers in ... even sight-see-ers ...
@ Penny - glad to see you and Gary here ... well that's interesting news - you think Gary must have been over to Holland for the ice-cream truck! I'm glad he's back to look after you Penny ... take care ...
@ Keith - well yes you'd need to chill out ... I loved the sculpture though ...
Thanks - good to see you all ... cheers Hilary
I'm ashamed to say I still haven't been to Keukenhof! I love the tulip fields though, and I was interested to see the photo of the barge in Dordrecht. I have one of the same barge myself, I think :) It's just down the road from me.
Hi Val - I wondered whether you'd been to Keukenhof ... but I expect you see lots of tulip fields though. I also wondered whether the barge was the type you knew - expected it was.
Thanks for adding to the conversation .. cheers Hilary
I've never had a tulip cocktail before! Let alone cannabis ice cream...they sell cannabis ice tea in vending machines here, but I have yet to try one...
Funny, I don't like tulips more than any other plant, but I've always loved their stylized versions in Turkish/Ottoman art.
Hi Deniz - no I haven't heard of a tulip cocktail ... nor the cannabis ice-cream, now nor your cannabis iced tea (that's a new one) ...
I agree re tulips - I thoroughly enjoy them at this time of year - they are different to the others around .. and they are natural - that I love ... and their history is fascinating ... the art of the Ottoman period is stunning.
Cheers and good to see you - Hilary
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