"Ankara, Capital of the Republic " a Ankara Travel Page by WulfstanTraveller

Ankara is the Capital of the Republic of Turkey and its current identity is very much intertwined with that role, a conscious break with the Istanbul-based Ottoman past, and the vision of Kemal Ataturk. Currently the second largest city in Turkey after Istanbul, it has close to 4 million people but unlike Istanbul, 100 years agao it was not very big. In fact, it was a relatively unimportant regional centre in an area that under the Ottomans was a largely ignored backwater, the focus of the Ottoman Empire always being western coastal Anatolia and, especially, the Balkans. As a result, its core is thoroughly modern, almost entirely post-1920. It lacks the ancient feel and rich Ottoman and Byzantine atmosphere of Istanbul and even the extensive old commercial and residential urban character of other cities like Bursa, which were larger until Ankara became the capital. It has an old town, in the Citadel or Hisar, but this is small, has the character of a small town, and tucked out of the way, largely ignored until recently becoming a tourist attractions.

I find Ankara to be a highly underrated city with a lot more to offer then people often realize or admit. Because of its thoroughly modern, 20th-century character, layout, and appearance, Ankara generally seems not to rank very highly with visitors, Turks or foreigners alike. Most seem just to think it's a boring, characterless place with only two things really worthwhile, the Museum of Anatolian Civiliations and Anitkabir. Ankarlis themselves seem to think a little more highly of the city but even some I talked to didn't think it was that great a place.

Nevertheless, I find Ankara to be a wonderful place to visit. First, it does, after all, possess the two sites mentioned above: the Museum of Anatolian Civiliations is one of the best archeological museums in the world, one of the premier museums in Turkey, and undeniably impressive, especially to someone with even the slightest interest in Anatolian history. Anitkabir is also indusputably an impressive monument, whatever one thinks of it or Ataturk, and is arguably the single most important monument (as opposed to palace, mosque, or the like) in Turkey. Moreover, Ankara has several other great museums, including the Museum of the War of Independence the Ethnographic Museum, and the Art and Sculpture Museum. It includes interesting Roman ruins, the old town in the Citadel is very interesting and atmospheric, the Ulus area has a wonderful collection of early Republic buildings of great interest for those interested in architecture or the history of Turkey, and the city in general, particularly Kizilay, has a nice collection of truly interesting and striking modern buildings, besides the usual jumble of plain, characterles modern strustures.

Moreover, the city offers a very different feel for a Turkish city, giving the visitor a more broad experience of the country and its culture than one would have if just visiting, say, Istanbul and Bursa. The modern character and the fact that the city is generally dominated by government employees, businessmen, and univesrity students and instructors, shows a different face of Turkey and an interesting counterpoint to [places like Istanbul.

The fact that it is not a touristy city also both gives a different perspecitve to the visitor, and allows visitors to explore a city without dealing with "tour guides" and carpet salesmen. One can easily get the feel of modern, every day working Turkey and shop and eat at places geared primarily toward locals. This is especially true if one goes to Kizilay or other areas away from the citadel since I think that few even of the tourists who do come here, really venture into the city. The vast majority seem to fly through on tours that stop at the Museum of Anatolian Civiliations and then whisk them on elsewhere. I never go on tours, though, and I myself came to Ankara in large part to visit the city itself.

Finally, because of its size and importance, it still boasts wonderful facilities, including hotels, shops, and restaurants. One can find plenty of expensive luxury services as well as a lot of great, high-quality facilities and eateries at relatively modest prices, often far lower than one would pay in Istanbul.