Iconic Tulips of Holland

Tulips at Keukenhof

On Tuesday, April 28 we took a long day trip to the Keukenhof garden. Keukenhof is the Dutch pronunciation of “kitchen garden” and is also known as the Garden of Europe. The Keuknehof is one of the world’s largest flower gardens. Each year approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted in the park, which spans 79 acres. Keukenhof is located in South Holland (the Netherlands) in the small town of Lisse, which is southwest of Amsterdam. The Keuknehof is only open for 8 weeks each year and, in that time, welcomes 800,000 visitors.

Our Family Enjoying the Keukenhof

For many centuries the land that now belongs to the Keukenhof was part of the Teylingen Castle estate, and the grounds were used mostly for hunting. In the 15th century, Countess Jacoba van Beieren added a small herb garden near the estate. This is where the area got its name keukenhof, which literally means “kitchen courtyard”. In 1433 Jacoba died and her estate was passed through the hands of several wealthy merchants for many years. Fast-forward to the 19th century, when Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt moved to the land and wanted a more structured garden built around the castle. A landscape architect was hired to design the garden. The landscape that was designed in 1857 still forms the foundation for the park today. 

In 1949 twenty Dutch bulb growers came together with a plan to use Keukenhof as a showcase for spring bulbs. The following year, the park opened to 236,000 visitors. The exhibition was a huge success, people loved the display, and ever since the yearly event has only continued to grow in popularity. Nearly 50 million people have visited Keukenhof since it first opened and nowadays, 75% come from more than 100 countries abroad.

Each year more than 7 million bulbs are planed at Keukenhof, these bulbs are supplied, for free, by 100 bulb growers. There are approximately 30 full-time gardeners, who work year-round at the Keukenhof. At the end of each open season, the gardeners dig out the bulbs and destroy them by order of the growers. Every fall, the gardeners plant the bulbs, by hand, in a completely new design. It takes about three months to finish planting.  The 2015 theme was Vincent Van Gogh. The bulbs are chosen to bloom throughout the eight-week opening period of the Keukenhof. In addition to the tulip gardens, Keukenhof also hosts a Japanese garden, an English landscape garden, a spring meadow, a natural garden, a historic garden, a garden maze, and seven inspirational gardens that are different each year.

Van Gogh in Flowers

Growing approximately 4.2 million bulbs a year, The Netherlands is the world’s largest producer of tulip bulbs. Half of which are exported.  So, I wondered how did the tulip become such a popular Dutch icon. In my research and our visit to the Keukenhof, I discovered an interesting history. Tulip bulbs are not indigenous to Holland and reached the Dutch shores from Turkey and Asia. The Dutch tulips are the credit of a man name Carolus Clusius. Clusius was a botanist from the Dutch city of Leiden and one of the foremost plant collectors and enthusiastic scientists of his field in Europe of the time. In 1593, Clusius was gifted bulbs from the ambassador of Constantinople.

By the 17th century cultivation of tulips in the fields around Leiden had taken off dramatically and tulips were becoming immensely popular. The flowers had become distinctive and due to their insufficiency they immediately became a status symbol among the Dutch nobility.  Soon the cultivation of tulips became a popular alternative to growing vegetables resulting in skyrocketing bulb prices and local gardens overflowing with tulips. The high demand and a pleasant appearance of the bulb led to the development of professional flower trading.  Tulips and other flower bulbs became an important part of life in The Netherlands, spiraling the country into the biggest producer and exporter of flowers in the world.

Tulip Fields

We were amazed by the size of the tulip fields and awed by the beauty of the Keukenhof gardens. I have never seen so many tulips in one location. The colors, the designs of the different flower gardens, and the overwhelming number of tulips make the Keukenhof a truly unique and wonderful place to visit. We were not disappointed and immensely enjoyed our short visit.

When In Rome....

Colosseum

Over Columbus Day weekend Ryan and I traveled to Rome. We arrived on Friday evening and after spending a little time exploring the area near our hotel we found a delectable Italian restaurant to satisfy our craving for pizza. Saturday morning we set out to explore the sites of Rome. Our first stop was the famous Spanish Steps.  The 135 Spanish Steps were built between 1723 and 1725 to bridge the steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna and the Trinità dei Monti church. The Spanish Steps have long been a meeting place in Rome and are almost always crowded. 

Crowded Spanish Steps

 On our way to the Coliseum we took the time to visit several of Rome’s famous fountains. The city has 50 monumental fountains and over 2,000 fountains in all, more than any city in the world. For more than 2,000 years fountains have provided drinking water and decorated the piazzas of Rome. A couple of the most famous Roman fountains we visited were: the Fountains of St. Peter’s Square (1614), the Triton Fountain (1642), the three fountains of Piazza Navona, and the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain was built in 1730 and is the largest and most spectacular of Rome’s fountains. It is designed to glorify the different Popes who created it. Unfortunately the Trevi Fountain was under renovation during our visit. 

Triton Fountain in Piazza Barberini

Barcaccia Fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps

Following our visit to the Trevi Fountain we headed to the infamous Roman Coliseum to meet our tour guide. We spent the afternoon on a three-hour walking tour of the Coliseum and Roman Forum.  The Coliseum is the most famous monument to have survived from the classical world and is located east of the Roman Forum. The name Colosseum is believed to derive from a colossal statue of Nero, which once stood nearby. The statue stood for many years and was modified hundreds of times before it finally fell. By the year 1,000 the name Coliseum had been coined to refer to the amphitheater we all know today.  

Colosseum

The massive stone amphitheater was commissioned around 70 to 72 AD by the emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty. The Coliseum was built on the site where emperor Nero had built an enormous golden palace for himself. In 80 AD, Vespasian’s son Titus opened the Coliseum with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. There are reports of approximately 9,000 wild animals being killed during the inaugural games. Measuring 620 feet by 513 feet, the Coliseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. The freestanding structure was made out of stone and concrete. The distinctive exterior had three stories of arched entrances (around 80) supported by semi-circular columns. 

Inside The Colosseum Today

Inside, the Coliseum had seating for more than 50,000 spectators, who were arranged according to social ranking.  Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends for the Emperor and Vestal Virgins, providing the best views of the arena. The lower part of the arena was reserved for wealthy citizens, while the upper part was for poor citizens. Awnings could be unfolded from the top story to protect the audience from the hot Roman sun as they watched gladiatorial combats, hunts, wild animal fights, and larger combats such as mock naval battles (during which the arena was flooded with water) put on at great expense. A wooden floor covered with sand, stood on top of an elaborate underground structure called the hypogeum(meaning underground). The underground consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before the games began. Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces. 

What Remains of the Special Marble Seats

A View From Above of the Complex Underground

 After four centuries of active use the arena fell into neglect, and up until the 18^th century it was used as a source of building materials. In the 6^th century a small church was built into the amphitheater structure and the arena was converted into a cemetery. The vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted into housing and workshops. These spaces are documented as still being rented out as late as the 12^th century. By the 20^th century, a combination of weather, natural disasters, neglect, and vandalism had destroyed nearly two-thirds of the original Coliseum, including a majority of the arena’s marble seats and decorative elements. The bronze clamps which once held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today. 

Inside the Colosseum the Smooth Surface Represents The Original Floor

 After a fascinating tour of the Coliseum our guide took us to the Roman Forum. The Roman Forum is a rectangular plaza surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of Rome. The Forum was ancient Rome’s showpiece, a grandiose district of marble-clad temples, basilicas, and energetic public spaces. Our guide helped us picture the ruins of the Roman Forum as it appeared in its glory days. Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. The original, low-lying, grassy wetland of the Forum was drained in the 7^th century BC with the building of a large covered sewer system, which emptied into the Tiber River. The Forum then continued to expand over succeeding centuries. Its importance declined after the 4^th century until eventually it was used as pastureland. In the Middle Ages it was extensively plundered for its stone and marble. The area was excavated in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, and the excavations continue to this day. 

Ruins of Roman Forum

Roman Forum

  


Following our walking tour and on our way to find our evening meal we passed the Circus Maximus. The Circus Maximus was a chariot racetrack first constructed in 6^th century BC and took on its distinctive shape under Julius Caesar. These were the oldest games in the city and were held every September with 15 days of chariot races and military processions. The last official chariot race held at the Circus was in 549 CE. The Circus was also used for other public events such as the Roman games, gladiator fights, wild animal hunts, and public executions. At its largest during the 1^st century CE the Circus had a capacity for 250,000 spectators. The track was originally covered in sand and had 12 starting gates for chariots arranged in an arc at the open end of the track. A decorated barrier ran down the center of the track so the competitors ran in a circuit around narrowed turning points placed at each end. In the 20^th century the Circus was partially excavated and then remodeled. Today the Circus continues as one of the city’s most important public spaces, hosting huge crowds for music concerts and rallies. 

Ruins of a Private Circus Built For One of the Emperors

Sunday we spent the day exploring Piazza’s, the Pantheon, and more Roman ruins. The first piazza we visited was Piazza del Popolo. The large urban square is one of the largest piazzas in all of Italy. The name Piazza del Popolo literally means “People’s Square”. Three churches and several fountains are located on the edge of the square with a tall Egyptian obelisk in the center. The obelisk is one of the tallest in Rome and was brought to Rome in 10 BC and was originally set up in the Circus Maxiums. The gardens of the Pincio Hill and the Villa Borghese overlook the piazza. 

Obelisk in Piazza del Popolo

View From Gardens of Pincio Hill

Our next stop was the Pantheon. The Pantheon was one of the major sites on Ryan’s must see in Rome list. The word Pantheon is a Greek adjective meaning “honor all gods”. The Pantheon was first built as a temple to all gods and is the best-preserved Ancient Roman monument. In 609 the Pantheon was converted to a church dedicated to St. Mary of the Martyrs, which may be one of the reasons the building managed to survive the middle Ages. The exact age of the Pantheon is unknown, but most historians claim the first pantheon was built in 27 BC and the Pantheon as we know it today was reconstructed in 120 AD. The most fascinating part of the Pantheon is its giant dome and oculus. The dome was the largest in the world for 1,300 years and still today remains the largest unsupported dome in the world. The diameter of the dome is 142 feet and is in perfect proportion. Meaning the distance from the floor to the top of the dome is exactly equal to its diameter. The oculus is 7.8 meters in diameter and is the only source of light. The interior of the Pantheon has the shape of a cylinder covered by a half sphere; the height of the cylinder is equal to the radius of the sphere (142 feet). Just outside the entrance stand 16 massive Corinthian columns supporting the portico and weighing 60 tons each. Each column is 39 feet tall, five feet in diameter and was brought all the way from Egypt. Today the Pantheon contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael and several Italian kings and poets. 

Oculus of the Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

Pantheon

After leaving the Pantheon we headed to Piazza Navona to explore and find some lunch. Piazza Navona is a large, oblong piazza built on the site of an ancient Roman circus. Within the piazza are three fountains designed by Bernini and encircling the square is the church of Sant’ Agnese in Agone. During the piazza’s history it hosted theatrical events and other traveling exhibits. 

One of the Fountains of Piazza Navona

Once we finished our lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Rome. We found ourselves at the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II. This monument was built in honor of the first king of a unified Italy. The monument was inaugurated in 1911 and was completed in 1925. The structure is 443 feet wide and 230 feet high. The monument is the largest in Rome and is clearly visible to most of the city despite being boxy in general shape and lacking a dome or a tower. The monument is built of white marble making it stand out from the brownish colored buildings surrounding it lending it a variety of nicknames. The most popular nickname we heard from the locals was “the wedding cake”. We spent time taking in the views of Roman from the steps, but were not able to explore the monument for very long before it closed for the day. 

"The Wedding Cake"

 After leaving the monument we stumbled upon the ruins of the Forum of Augustus. The Imperial forum was built by Augustus and includes the Temple of Mars. Augustus vowed to build a temple honoring Mars, the Roman God of War. The temple was to be built in a new forum and named after Augustus himself. The Forum of Augustus was built to both house a temple honoring Mars and to provide another space for legal proceedings. 

Ruins of the Forum of Augustus

 Across the street from the Forum of Augustus we found the ruins of the Forum of Trajan. The complex was created between 107 and 113 AD.  At the time the forum was seen as one of the architectural wonders of the world and was considered the grandest of all the forums. The forum measured 1,000 feet long and 600 feet wide and was the last Imperial forum to be constructed in ancient Rome. The Forum contained the magnificent Column of Trajan, which was erected to commemorate the victory of Trajan over Dacians. Today the column is one of the best-preserved ancient monuments with its spiraling frieze recounting the story of the conquest of Dacia.
 

Ruins of the Forum Trajan

Column of Trajan

 Monday was our last full day in Rome. We spent the day exploring St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums are the museums of the Vatican City and are located within the city’s boundaries. Vatican City is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. The city covers an area of approximately 110 acres, has a population of 842, and is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world. The unique economy of Vatican City is supported by the sale of postage stamps, tourist mementos, admission fees, and the sale of publications. 

St. Peter's Square

 The Vatican Museums display works from a massive collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museum was founded in the early 16^th century and contains 54 galleries. During our visit to the Vatican Museums we were also able to visit the Sistine Chapel. The renowned chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV who restored it between 1477 and 1480. Since its restoration the chapel has served as a place of both religious and functionary papal activity. The fame of the Sistine Chapel lies mainly in the beautiful frescos on the ceiling painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. We were awed by our visit to the Sistine Chapel. 

Painted Ceiling in the Vatican Museum

Inside the Vatican Museum

  After exploring the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel we headed to St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peter’s Basilica is one of the largest churches in the world and is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. There has been a church on the site since the time of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. Construction of the current basilica, replacing the Old St. Peter’s Basilica of the 4^th century AD, began in 1506 and was completed in 1626. The central dome of St. Peter’s dominates the skyline of Rome. We approached the basilica through St. Peter’s Square, which is surrounded by tall colonnades. The entrance to St. Peter’s is through a narthex, which stretches across the building. The nave that leads to the central dome is in three bays, with piers supporting a barrel vault, the highest of any church. The nave is framed by wide aisles, which have a number of chapels off them. The interior of St. Peter’s Basilica is lavishly decorated with marble, reliefs, architectural sculpture, and gilding. The basilica contains a large number of tombs of popes and other notable people. The interior and sheer size of St. Peter was very impressive. We were not disappointed we took the time to tour the interior of the basilica. 

St. Peter's Basilica

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

Dome of St. Peter's Basilica

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

Constantinople

For Labor Day weekend this year Ryan and I made a trip to Istanbul. Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, with a population of 14.1 million and is the fifth-largest city in the world by population within city limits. Uniquely, Istanbul is a transcontinental city, straddling the Bosphorus waterway. The commercial and historical centers lie in Europe, while a third of its population lives in Asia. 

A View of Istanbul

For nearly sixteen centuries following its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 AD, Istanbul served as the capital of four empires (Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman). Interesting enough, the city was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold. Although the Republic of Turkey established its capital in Ankara, palaces and imperial mosques still line the hills as visible reminders of the city’s previous central role. We arrived on Friday evening and meandered through the narrow streets to find our hotel. Our first Turkish experience was the food. We had beef and lamb skewers and finished the evening with apple Turkish tea. Everything we tasted at this restaurant was delicious. 

Out Meal of Lamb and Beef Skewers

Turkish Tea and Baklava

 On Saturday we spent the morning exploring the city and purchasing tickets for the hop on hop off bus. We decided to ride the bus around its full route so we could hear the history of the city. The bus took us across the Bosphorus Bridge, a suspension bridge spanning the Bosphorus strait connecting Europe and Asia. The Bosphorus Bridge was the fourth longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1973. At present, it is the 22^nd longest suspension bridge span in the world. We rode across the bridge from the European side of the city to the Asian side where we decided to take a break from our bus ride and explore. 

Sign on Bosphorus Bridge

Bosphorus Bridge

  

We made our way to Beylerbeyi Sarayı, a summer palace overlooking the Bosphorus form its Asian shore. The Imperial Ottoman summer residence was built in the 1860’s and was often used as a guesthouse for visiting heads of state. The palace looks the most beautiful from the Bosphorus, where its two bathing pavilions can be seen. The reception hall has a pool and a fountain because running water was popular in Ottoman houses for its pleasant sound and cooling effect in the heat. Egyptian straw matting was used on the floor as a form of insulation. Unfortunately, they would not let us take photos inside the house. After touring the house we hopped back on the bus and headed back over to the European side of Istanbul.

Beylerbeyi Sarayı From the Bosphorus

Our next stop was the Grand Bazaar (1455). The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 60 covered streets and over 5,000 shops. The bazaar is well know for its jewelry, hand-painted ceramics, carpets, embroideries, spices, and antique shops. The bazaar has been an important trading center since 1461 and its labyrinthine vaults feature two domed buildings, the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461. 

Spices on Display at the Grand Bazaar

Enjoying Istanbul

 Sunday morning we hopped back on the bus and headed to the neighborhood of Galata. The medieval stronghold of Galata was a colony of the Republic of Genoa between 1273 and 1453. After having lunch at the Hard Rock Café we headed to the famous Galata Tower. The tower was built by the Genoese in 1348 at the northernmost and highest point of the stronghold. The medieval stone tower is one of Istanbul’s most striking landmarks. Galata Tower is a nine-story, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and offers panoramic views of the city. 

Galata Tower

Galata Tower

 

The Bosphorus from Galata Tower

Enjoying Galata Tower

After leaving Galata tower we jumped on a Bosphorus river cruise.  The boat took us along both the Asian and European shores. The Bosphorus was an important ancient trade route connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The picture from the water gave us a different perspective of the city while taking in views of stately homes, palaces, and medieval fortresses along the route. 

Mosque Viewed from the Bosphorus

Rumelian Fortress from the Bosphorus

 

We got up early Monday morning and headed to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque. Sultan Ahmed Mosque was nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. The interior of the mosque is lined with more than 20,000 handmade ceramic tiles. The upper levels of the interior are dominated by blue paint and more than 200 stained glass windows with intricate designs. The mosque was built from 1609 to 1616 and is still used a practicing mosque today. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque has one main dome, six minarets, and eight secondary domes. The design incorporates some Byzantine Christian elements of the neighboring Hagia Sophia with traditional Islamic architecture and is considered the last great mosque of the classical period. 

Blue Mosque

Large Dome of Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia is one of Istanbul’s most iconic structures and represents the peak of Byzantine architecture. A dome 102 feet in diameter tops the building. Hagia Sophia stood as the world’s largest cathedral for more than a thousand years, before being converted into a mosque. Today the building is a museum. We did not take the time to tour the museum only to marvel at its architecture. 

Hagia Sophia

 Following our visit to the Blue Mosque we headed to the Basilica Cistern. The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul. Before being converted into a cistern, a great Basilica stood in its place, built between the 3^rd and 4^th centuries during the early Roman Age. The enlarged cistern provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings in the surrounding area. The cathedral-sized cistern is an underground chamber approximately 453 feet by 212 feet and is capable of holding 100,000 tons of water. A forest of 336 marble columns support the ceiling, each 30 feet high, arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns. In the northwest corner of the cistern are the bases of two columns carved with the facade of Medusa. The origin of the two heads is unknown, though it is thought the heads were brought to the cistern after being removed from a building of the late Roman period. 

Basilica Cistern

Medusa Head of Basilica Cistern

 Our last stop before packing up and leaving Istanbul was the Topkapı Palace. The large palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. Construction began in 1459 and at its peak the palace was home for as many as 4,000 people. Topkapı contained mosques, a hospital, bakeries, and a mint. After the 17^th century, the palace gradually lost its importance as the sultans preferred to spend more time in their new palaces along the Bosphorus.  In 1923 the palace was transformed into a museum dedicated to the imperial era. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms, chambers, and fine examples of Ottoman architecture. The museums contain large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armor, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts, as well as a display of Ottoman treasures and jewelry. The palace is an extensive complex rather than a single structure, with an assortment of low buildings constructed around courtyards, interconnected with galleries and passages.

Topkapı Palace

A Pavilion Room at Topkapı Palace

Istanbul from Galata Tower