Türkmenbaşı Nature Park () is a

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

located in

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 177 km2 and its population is 350,454 (2022). It is on the northeastern part of Istanbul's European side. Sarıyer al ...

district of

Istanbul Province Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey. Situated west of Hacı Osman Bayırı Avenue in the PTT Evleri neighborhood of Büyükdere in the district of Sarıyer, it covers an area of . It was established in 1998 as a place, to dignify the cultural values shared by Turkey and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. It was named "Turkmenbashi" (literally: Head of

Turkmens Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...

), in honor of

Saparmurat Niyazov Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov (19 February 1940 – 21 December 2006) was a Turkmenistani politician who led Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was the Secretary (title), first secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenist ...

(1940–2006), the leader of Turkmenistan. The nature park offers outdoor recreation activities such as

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

ing for visitors on daily basis. There is a playground for children.

Ecosystem

;Flora Common plant of the nature park is

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

. Other notable trees are oak (''

Quercus petraea ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Welsh oak, Cornish oak, Irish oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an un ...

''), hornbeam (''

Carpinus betulus Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

''), oriental plane (''

Platanus orientalis ''Platanus orientalis'', the Oriental plane, is a large, deciduous tree in the family Platanaceae, growing to or more, and known for its longevity and spreading crown. In autumn its deep green leaves may change to blood red, amber, and yellow. ...

''), Norway spruce (''

Picea abies ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, ...

''), Mediterranean cypress (''

Cupressus sempervirens ''Cupressus sempervirens'', the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Persian cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Iran. While some studies show it ha ...

''), honeyberry, (''

Celtis australis ''Celtis australis'', the European nettle tree, European hackberry, Mediterranean hackberry, lote tree, southern nettle tree, or honeyberry, is a deciduous tree native to Southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor. The tree was introduced to E ...

''), medlar (''

Mespilus germanica ''Mespilus germanica'', known as the medlar or common medlar, is a large shrub or small tree in the rose family Rosaceae. When the genus ''Mespilus'' is included in the genus ''Crataegus'', the correct name for this species is ''Crataegus german ...

''), shinglewood (''

Thuja plicata ''Thuja plicata'' is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Cupressaceae, native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Its common name is western redcedar in the U.S. or western red cedar in the UK, and it is also called pacific re ...

'') and the shrubs lavender (''

Lavandula spica ''Lavandula angustifolia'', formerly ''L. officinalis'', is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean (Spain, France, Italy, Croatia etc.). Its common names include lavender, true lavender and English lavender (though ...

''), barberry (''

Berberis vulgaris ''Berberis vulgaris'', also known as common barberry, European barberry or simply barberry, is a shrub in the genus ''Berberis'' native to the Old World. It produces edible but sharply acidic berries, which people in many countries eat as a tar ...

''), glossy abelia ('' Abelia × grandiflora''), pittosporum ('' Pittosporum tobira''), cherry laurel ('' Laurocerasus officinalis''), Chinese photinia ('' Photinia serratifolia''), strawberry tree (''

Arbutus unedo ''Arbutus unedo'', commonly known as strawberry tree, also called madrone, is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, the arbutus berr ...

''), Japanese aucuba (''

Aucuba japonica ''Aucuba japonica'', commonly called spotted laurel, Japanese laurel, Japanese aucuba or gold dust plant (U.S.), is a shrub () native to rich forest soils of moist valleys, thickets, by streams and near shaded moist rocks in China, Korea, and Jap ...

''), fountainplant ('' Ophiopogon japonicus''). ;Fauna The main fauna of the nature park consists of bird species. Observed bird species are

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where the ...

magpie Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent c ...

, sparrow,

Western jackdaw The western jackdaw (''Coloeus monedula''), also known as the Eurasian jackdaw, the European jackdaw, or simply the jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and western North Africa; it is mostly resi ...

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...

. Other species are

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

and

chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of subtribe Tamiina. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks are classified as four genera: '' ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkmenbasi Nature Park Nature parks in Turkey Protected areas established in 1998 1998 establishments in Turkey Parks in Istanbul Sarıyer Turkey–Turkmenistan relations