Tulip - The Light of the East

Ask anyone, anywhere to name things that are "typically Dutch" and theanswer is going to include: tulips. However, before 1593 no Dutchmanhad ever seen a tulip. In the 400 years since, the tulip has not onlybecome a symbol for the Netherlands, but the Dutch fascination withthis most beloved of spring flowers has created the global tulip-industry, producing three billion tulip bulbs a year of whichapproximately two billion are exported all over the world.

But the tulip is not Dutch, it came originally from the remotemountain ranges of Central Asia - in areas that are now part of Russia,around the Black Sea, in the Crimea, and from the steppes located northof the Caucasus. In the 1500s when tulips were first introduced intoEurope, these areas belonged to what was then known as the TurkishOttoman Empire. It is known that the Turks were cultivating tulips asearly as 1,000 AD. Before tulips ever reached Europe, they had enjoyeda long and fascinatingly rich cultural history.

In this one-hour dramatised documentary special we explore theastonishing history of the tulip, from its origins on the barrenwindswept hills of central Asia, to its place of honour in the lushimperial gardens of Istanbul, to its starring moment as the mostcoveted - and beautiful - commodity in Europe, to a phenomenon that hascaptivated the world.

Documentary: 52 minutes
Languages: English & Dutch
Format: Region free / PAL DVD
Written and directed by: Hikmet Yenigun, Hansje Ran & Mark Verkerk
Produced by: Cengiz Ozdemir & Ton Okkerse