The Bridge to Nowhere
By ANDREW FINKEL
ISTANBUL — I suspect that many Istanbul residents, even those caught in the tailgate eternity of the daily commute to work, don’t spend much time worrying about the broad-leafed knapweed. Like the small meadow saffron, it is one of the 2,000 species of flora that thrive in the greater metropolitan area — that’s 150 varieties more than exist in all of Britain, a landmass 50 times the size. Famous as the juncture between Asia and Europe, Istanbul is also the meeting point of the climate systems of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, which means that a diverse plant life complements its rich history.
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