Turkey's biggest lotus park to open in Bolu

A 7,300-square-meter "Lotus Flower and Bonsai Art Park," which will be home to Turkey's biggest lotus breeding pond with 200 different types of endemic lotus flowers, plants and trees indigenous to the city and a bonsai greenhouse, will be opened by the end of this summer to nature enthusiasts on the northwestern province of Bolu's Alpağutbey neighborhood. 

The Lotus Flower and Bonsai Art Park project was initiated by the Bolu Municipality and the city's well-known nature and tourism entrepreneur Belgin Özer.

The project is designed in an attempt to introduce endemic plants, flowers, and wildlife of the province to the world, the Bolu Municipality said in a statement. It will offer visitors fresh scenery by means of its four season long green trees and colorful visual performances composed of the unique lotus flower that will grow in the center.

Bolu Mayor Alaattin Yılmaz said they are building a specially designed 1,160-square-meter pool for the lotus in the center of the park.

"It will be Turkey's biggest lotus pool. The world's richest lotus flower collector, businessman Hüseyin Usta has donated 200 kinds of lotus flowers to our province. The pool is designed especially to bring the full view of the flowers to the fore. Therefore, we will create 104 separate sections in the pool with different heights that are suitable for the maximum growing height of different lotuses. The pool's water will be supplied by the park area's ground waters," said Yılmaz.

Besides the lotus flowers, another important flower of the park which the authorities will focus on will be roses. 

At the first stage, Gallicas, Floribunda, Rosa Chinensis (Chinese Rose) and Centifolia Roses, which are typical to the area, will be planted.
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