There are only a select few areas in the world that are going to be able to compete with Istanbul’s new family friendly ‘Garden’ which has been planted on the site of the former Ataturk Airport, with the first phase of the project officially unveiled last Sunday. Soon to become Türkiye’s largest public garden it will offer citizens approximately 2m square metres of green space once it’s finished – and the first phase already occupies a massive 499,000 square metres.
Once the new Istanbul Airport went into operation back in October 2018, Ataturk effectively ceased trading as a commercial airline hub, and after much deliberation on what to do with the area, it was decided that more green space was needed and the idea for Istanbul’s Green Oasis was born.
Work on the garden eventually began on the 29th May 2022 and so far just over 10,000 trees along with 42,000 plants have gone into the garden. Note that once it’s finished, it will probably consist of more than 145,000 trees with many different species including Olive Trees, Linden Trees and Plane Trees. In addition to the lush greenery, an artificial stream will also be added as well as cycle paths, picnic areas, children’s play areas and ‘chill out’ zones. It will truly be a place for everyone to come and enjoy throughout the year.
Even though Ataturk Airport has closed to the public, one of the runways will remain open to serve as a local airfield for the nearby hospitals, and it’s also been decided that the Garden itself will serve as an ‘Emergency Hub’ for victims of any future natural disasters. It will be able to hold up to 40,000 tents providing necessary shelter for around 165,000 people.
In order to meet both environmental & urban living goals, the Ministry for Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has had a big focus on improving & increasing green space over the last few years, with no less than 15 national gardens having been opened with 27 national parks currently in the planning stages. Across Turkiye in general the ‘green initiative’ has delivered 484 public gardens with another 314 in construction making a total of 200 million square meters of green space, once everything has been completed.
*image credit to The Daily Sabah
