The iris garden in May
The single most striking corner, when the many iris varieties open all at once in spring.
Saglıkcıormancı4 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Saglıkcıormancı4 — CC BY-SA 4.0
In 1980 a textile industrialist bought a hillside outside Yalova and set about planting the entire world on it. That, in short, is what Hayrettin Karaca did, twelve years before he went on to found TEMA, Turkey's best-known environmental foundation. The result is a designed forest of 13.5 hectares holding around 5,000 kinds of trees and shrubs, and as many bulbs and rhizomes again, gathered from Anatolia, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand. Turks call it the 'living tree museum', which is a more honest label than garden. This is not a family park in the usual sense but a scientific collection laid out as a chain of small themed gardens: a rock garden, an iris garden, a rose garden, a corner of miniature plants and a bonsai collection grown from Turkish native trees. Paths are gravel, fine with a pushchair but not truly wheelchair-friendly, and the ground slopes in many places. A good visit takes an unhurried hour or two, and it rewards people who enjoy looking at trees, not people hoping for playgrounds or cafés. Timing decides everything here. In April and May the whole collection comes into flower, the irises above all; in October and November the colours turn red and gold. In August the shade is deep and the heat kinder than in central Yalova, but there is little in bloom and the grass is tired, so do not build a day around it. More important: the arboretum is closed on Mondays, walk-in visits are limited to weekends from 10:00 to 17:00 with a lunch break between 12:00 and 13:00, and weekday and group visits need a phone appointment in advance. Entry is a token fee, most recently quoted at roughly 30 lira, paid at the gate, so bring cash. Getting there is easy. The arboretum sits in Samanlı village about 5 km from central Yalova on the road to Termal: ten minutes by car, or around fifteen on the Termal minibus from Yalova bus station, which passes close by. The ideal plan is a Saturday morning here, then carry on up the same road to the Termal thermal baths for the rest of the day.
The single most striking corner, when the many iris varieties open all at once in spring.
A rare collection of Anatolian native trees shaped in the Japanese manner, something you will seldom see elsewhere.
One path carries you from Anatolian natives to trees of Australia and the Americas.
Samanlı village, Yalova–Termal road, Yalova
If the children are small and want to play, no: there are no playgrounds, do not count on a café, and the paths are sloping gravel. But if you are heading up the Termal road in spring or autumn anyway, an hour here adds a lot to the day, especially as entry costs almost nothing and it sits on the same road.
No. Walk-in visits are Saturday and Sunday only; weekdays require a phone call in advance, and the arboretum is closed altogether on Monday. If your stay is short, plan it for the weekend.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.