Ankara

Ankara is the capital of modern Turkey. Located in Central Anatolia, the city is connected to all corners of Turkey by bus, train, and flight. The city is more of a government center with many ministries, embassies, and universities. Ankara is a well-planned city and fairly green for central Turkey.

The history of Ankara goes back thousands of years. It is thought that the Hittites were in the area in the 2nd millennium and under the Phrygian civilization around the 7th to 5th century B.C. In the 3rd century Celts arrived in the area and established a kingdom. St Paul visited Ancyra in 50 A.D. and later wrote his celebrated Epistle to the Galatians. Another important point in the more recent history was that the first Grand National Assemble was held here in 1920. In 1923, Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, made Ankara the new capital, after which the population increased from 30,000 to 3 million.

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is probably the most visited tourist destination in the city. A restored Ottoman caravanserai, it houses an excellent collection of artifacts from the Old Hittite Kingdom, the Assyrian Trade Colonies, the Late Hittite kingdoms, Phrygian, Urartian, and other Anatolian cultures.

Other points of interest include sites from the Roman days – roman baths, the Temple of Augustus, and Julian’s Column; Ankara Castle, situated in the old section, or old Ankara, where the majority of people lived up to the Ottoman Era and dating back to 7th century B.C.; and the Mausoleum of Ataturk (Anitkabir), Ataturk’s final resting place.

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