Spring Itineraries: Where to Venture to Elude the Crowds?

For Milliyet Pazar’s spring feature, Seyhan Akıncı invited me to devise a spring itinerary through Istanbul. Within those same pages, Özgül Cömert narrates the season through the lexicon of botany; it fell to me to specify where, and precisely when, these floral displays might best be observed.

The itinerary comprises six distinct stages: the tulips of Emirgan Grove, a nautical excursion along the Bosphorus, flanking the yalıs, palaces, and fortresses, during the blooming of the Judas trees, a cycling expedition on the Princes’ Islands, a leisurely six-kilometre trek through the Belgrade Forest, Gülhane Park, and the Atatürk Arboretum. In none of these locales is the scenery the primary concern; rather, the determining factor is timing. Given that Emirgan is besieged by coach excursions from other provinces, arriving at first light is imperative. For the Islands, a weekday is vastly preferable. As for the Belgrade Forest, to escape the pervasive fumes of barbecues and the ordeal of parking, one must opt either for a weekday or the very first hours of the weekend. In Istanbul, to put it briefly, spring is the exclusive privilege of those who anticipate the dawn.

A well-conceived itinerary is equally anchored in pragmatic details. Thus, I recalled that Gülhane was once an extension of the Topkapı Palace and that its cistern has been restored to public access, that provisions are strictly prohibited within the Arboretum despite it being conveniently serviced by municipal buses, and that one is highly likely to encounter couples posing for their nuptial portraits.

For those intercepted by a sudden spring downpour, a supplementary list is provided: the immersive museum in the former Cadastre building opposite Hagia Sophia, followed immediately by Hagia Sophia itself; Istanbul Modern in its new building and the adjacent Painting and Sculpture Museum of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University; the National Palaces Painting Museum within the Crown Prince’s Quarters at Dolmabahçe; and the succession of museums along İstiklal Caddesi, stretching from Taksim to the Pera Museum. The exhaustive disquisition is available in Milliyet Pazar.