First lady Emine Erdoğan visited the Türkiye National Botanical Garden in Ankara on Thursday, where she explored its local seed garden, soilless farming facilities and Agricultural Biodiversity Museum showcasing Anatolia’s rich botanical heritage.
She began her tour at the garden’s plant nursery, where she received information about the various species being cultivated.
She later visited the "Our Heritage Local Seed Garden,” established in 2024 under her patronage as part of the "Our Heritage Local Seed” project. The garden features 24 different fruits and vegetables grown from heirloom seeds.
Emine Erdoğan collected tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, melons, beans and corn from the garden and said, "We have completed today’s harvest.”
She also toured the Ornamental Plants Production Center before visiting the Soilless Agriculture Greenhouse, an igloo-shaped facility where crops including lettuce, basil, arugula, parsley and strawberries are grown using the nutrient film technique.
During her visit, Emine Erdoğan also toured the Agricultural Biodiversity Museum, which highlights Türkiye’s rich agricultural and biological heritage.
The museum was registered as a "private museum” by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2024. It features wild animals, cultivated plants, herbarium specimens and displays illustrating the ethnobiological significance of agricultural products in Anatolia.
Emine Erdoğan visited galleries showcasing plants and food products under themes including "Healing Plants: Nature’s Pharmacy,” "The Power of Scents: Plants Containing Essential Oils,” "From Seed to Drop: Oil-Producing Plants,” "Adding Flavor to Our Tables: Spices and Food Plants” and "Nature’s Gold: Wheat and Grains.”
She also viewed exhibits featuring plant and animal species found in forests, steppes, meadows and pasture ecosystems, as well as traditional works made from natural materials, including musical instruments, an Arkadiye prayer rug and handwoven carpets.
Emine Erdoğan later met children in the museum’s library, chatting with them and posing for a commemorative photograph.
Following her visit, Emine Erdoğan described the National Botanical Garden as "Türkiye’s living botanical memory” in a social media post.
She said the center brings together rare and endemic species from across the country while preserving and documenting Anatolia’s unique flora through scientific research.
She also highlighted the Our Heritage Local Seed Garden, Ornamental Plants Production Center, Soilless Agriculture Greenhouse and Agricultural Biodiversity Museum as valuable assets for the country’s future.
The Türkiye National Botanical Garden was established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in 2023 to preserve Türkiye’s biological heritage, protect endangered species and serve as an internationally recognized research center for botanical science.
Covering approximately 2,200 decares, the garden is Türkiye’s largest botanical center and among Europe’s major botanical facilities.
One of its key scientific components is its ex-situ conservation work and national herbarium, where plant and macrofungal specimens collected by botanists from across Türkiye are preserved and digitally cataloged according to international standards.
The collection contains tens of thousands of specimens and serves as an important reference for taxonomic, phylogenetic and ecological research.
The site also includes seed gene bank infrastructure, climate-controlled research and production greenhouses and nurseries, allowing rare and endemic plants threatened with extinction to be propagated and potentially returned to their natural habitats.
The garden also serves as a cultural and educational space, featuring the Agricultural Biodiversity Museum, art galleries, temporary exhibition halls and educational workshops designed to promote environmental awareness among visitors of all ages.