Quite often, ads can be seen like: "The Netherlands - Tulips side"; "Turkey - the tulips side"; "Ottawa - side of tulips". But in fact the home of these beautiful flowers is Asia.
The first written information about them dates from the 12th-12th centuries. There is a tulip drawing in a Biblical manuscript of that time. In the East, they say, "This flower has no aroma, like the peacock-song. So the tulip is famous for its beautiful colors, like the peacock with its unusual plumage. " Many traditions have come to us since the ancient ages.
The story of cultivation begins in Persia, where the flower was originally called "dulbash"; turban. Later, Hafiz says, "With its virgin beauty, even the rose can not be compared."
From Persia, the tulip falls into Turkey where it immediately becomes a sultan's favorite. The Sultans had whole carpets of flowers in their gardens. In the evening, when it was dark, during open-air feasts, they dropped turtles between the flowers. On their backs they attached lighted candles, and when the tortoises began to move, a fairy tale emerged.
After the monarchs, beginning with Suleiman the First (1494-1566), in the tulips, the noble majesty also embraced. In the period of management of Ahmed III the tulips occupy the first place among the cultivated flowers and later that period of time called the "Tulips Time". Started the first in the history of flower tulips hysteria.
It has been necessary to introduce strict laws for planting and selling flowers. For example, it was forbidden to buy or sell outside the capital. Such an act was considered a criminal offense punishable by expulsion from the country. There were rumors that the flower is more valuable than human life.
In Europe, the tulips fell in the second half of the sixteenth century thanks to the efforts of Ogir Gezelin de Bussbeck, ambassador of the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand in the Ottoman Empire. He was a wonderful man who was interested in history, archeology and biology, who loved to travel.
For the tulip in her travel notes she writes: "In a dull day in Adrianople, we continue to reach Constantinople. Along the way, we encountered many daffodils, hyacinths and flowers that the Turks called "quilts" ... They do not smell, they make a very fragrant aroma. Turks care very well for these flowers. No matter how compelling they are, they give sweet and dear to this extremely beautiful flower. "
In the report he sent to Vienna, de Busbeck reported on the tulips, and then sent a batch of bulbs and seeds that began to grow in the Vienna Garden for Medicinal Plants, led by the botanical professor k. Clusius. The prominent scientist was attracted to the selection and the results of his trials were sent to his many friends and relatives.
Very soon they fall into the hands of traders who have spread their merchandise not only to Austria but also to England, France, the Czech Republic and Germany. The Venetian traders were particularly active. The other way of spreading was by thefts of the royal gardens and also by the gardener of the well-educated Klusius.
The truth is that tulips have begun to raise only high-ranking individuals, so they become a symbol of wealth and knowledge. Among the passionate fans of these flowers are the Austrian Emperor Franz II, Cardinal de Richelieu, the Liberty Voltaire, the French King Ludwig XVIII. The latter even had holidays in the Versailles tulip, where the most famous flower and garden lovers presented their achievements.
In the Netherlands the first specimens appeared in 1570 when the same K. Kluzius accepted a proposal to work there. They love tulips so much that it's getting real hysterics around them. And this has led to speculative speculation on the flower market.