Yıldız Park

Yildiz Park, to German "Star Park ", with an area of 160 hectares one of the largest parks in the city of Istanbul Bosphorus in Beşiktaş district and extends behind the Ciragan Palace along the slopes of the European Bosphorus shore.

The area of ​​the Yıldız Park was a forest in the Byzantine period. During the reign of Sultan Süleyman I the park was used as a hunting ground. The park takes its name from the nearby pavilion Yıldız Kasrı that of Sultan Selim III. was built in the early 19th century. Yildiz Park was once part of the imperial gardens of the Yildiz Palace.

The park was originally designed by the French landscape architect G. Le Roy, where rare and exotic trees, shrubs and flowers were planted. The park was restored in the 1980s by the Turkish Touring and Automobile Club. The park is a popular picnic site especially for the weekends and offers a panoramic view of the Bosphorus. Two old pavilion, which Çadır and Malta Pavilion, offer for visitors to tea, breakfast and lunch. The park includes the sale, Çadır and Malta Pavilion and the Yıldız Porcelain Factory. Almost three-quarters of the park consists of trees and shrubs, the rest are paths and meadows with great biodiversity of wild plants. The vegetation of the park includes magnolias, bay leaves, Judas tree, lime, horse chestnut, oak, pine, cypress, yew, cedar and ash.