Cuddled in the heart of the sweeping Anatolian landscape, Turkey's capital of Ankara -- its second-largest city, after Istanbul -- dates back to the stone age. The old city's significance extends far beyond its famously excellent museums, parklands, honey, university and even its world-renowned Angora wool. A sprawling metropolis of more than 5,000,000, the city enjoys key importance in Turkey's tourism industry: its central location makes it a nexus for Turkey's bus, train, plane and highway routes, as well as a convenient "base camp" for visits to the rest of Anatolia. Culturally, historically and amenity-rich, Ankara offers ample enticements for a few days' pause before moving on to other points of interest in the region.
Pre-Turkish Historical Tourism
- Ankara held its current site long before Kemal Ataturk declared it the seat of the Turkish Republic. To see how old the modern-looking city really is, head to the high hill that overlooks the urban sprawl. Wander through the thick concentration of historic buildings to find the world-renowned Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, uniquely housed in a caravanserai. Among other interesting exhibits, the museum preserves Hittite art and artifacts dating back as far as 7,500 years.After the museum, stop to drink a cool ayran at a street-side cafe in preparation for a climb up to the citadel. Known as the "Hisar" or the "kale," this ancient building allows tourists to scale its formidable walls, where city views unfold spectacularly -- and a tiny Turkish village sits hidden at the top. Ankara's Roman occupants made their mark at the base of the citadel hill, where visitors may freely stroll through the ruins of the Temple of Augustus and Rome, the Column of Julian and a Roman bath complex.
Turkish Historical Tourism
Ankara is deeply fond of Kemal Ataturk.
Ankara's importance in the founding Turkish Republic can't be overstated. The seeds of the new leadership were firmly planted here in the 1920s, and the buildings still stand where the first meetings of that government were held. Now museums, the houses of the Turkish Grand National Assembly lie just downhill from Ulus Square.However, the most inarguably valuable Turkish monument in Ankara is the one it erected to house the earthly remains of its beloved Kemal Atuturk, the founder of the republic. Ataturk's Mausoleum, a tower-spiked complex entered via a road fringed by stately lion statuary, can't help but impress. The on-site museums chronicle Ataturk's life and the Turkish war for independence.
Urban Tourism
- Jet-setting travelers head to the Samanpazari neighborhood. There, the streets are lined with antique shops widely acclaimed to offer better selection and more tempting deals than Istanbul's. The bulk of these are located along Atpazari Sokak Street and clustered around the Ahi Serafettin Mosque.To enjoy Ankara's vibrant cafe culture, book shops, white-tablecloth restaurants and galleries, take a cab ride to Kizilay, Arjantin Street and Cankaya. These popular destinations for Ankaran urbanites bring together a wide swath of the city's denizens: government workers, university students and businesspeople share tables and pots of steaming "cay" tea, Toyga soup, pilaf kapama, traditional muffins, Halep dolma and chewy, local "Beypazari bagels."
Religious Tourism
- Islamic cultural monuments abound in Ankara, and the sinuous geometry of Islamic art and architecture appears -- subtly and otherwise -- nearly everywhere in the city. The most important destinations for Islamic religious tourism are the Ahi Serafettin Mosque and its attendant tomb, as well as the Seljuk Turkish Ahi Serafettin Mosque. The latter is housed in a beautiful building, which has occupied the slope of the central citadel hill since the 1200s. It opens to the respectful, appropriately dressed public solely at prayer times.The Haci Bayram Mosque was built for a local Muslim mystic in the 1300s who led an important Sufi order that became his namesake: "the Bayrami." In his time, Bayram was called to advise sultans. Though the pilgrim's lodge is long ruined, modern Sufi Muslims still perform pilgrimages to the site.
