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The city of Ankara lies in the center of Anatolia on the eastern edge of he great, high Anatolian plateau, at an altitude of 850 meters.
The region’s history goes back to the Bronze Age Hatti Civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium B.C. by the Hittities, in the 10th century B.C. by Phrygians, then by the Lydians and Persians. After these came the Galatians, a Celtic race who were the first to make Ankara their capital in the 3rd century B.C. The city subsequently fell to the Romans and to the Byzantines.
The city was an important cultural, trading and arts center in Roman times and important trading center on the caravan route to the east in Ottoman times.
By consequence of its role in the war and its strategic position, it was declared the capital of the new Republic of Turkey in 1923.
Located on an imposing hill in the Anıttepe quarter of the city stands the mausoleum of Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey. Completed in 1953, it is an impressive fusion of ancient and modern architectural ideas and remains unsurpassed as an accomplishment of modern Turkish architecture.
The museum is close to the citadel entrance. An old bedesten (covered bazaar) has been beautifully restored and now houses a marvelous and unique collection of Paleolithic, Neolithic, Hatti, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian and Roman works and showpiece Lydian treasures.
Following the eruptions of 4000 meter Mt. Erciyes near Kayseri over 30 million years ago, its volcanic ash consolidated into a soft porous rock called tufa, which covered an area of about 4000 sq kilometres. The soft tufa eroded during millennia of winds, snow and rain, but where it was protected by a harder block of stone above, the result was the curiously shaped fairy chimneys (or cones) seen today. In pre-Christian times the rural population of Cappadocia made use of natural caves and tunnelled and chambered the soft tufa providing the underground cities where they hid from their prosecutors. They carved many churches and chapels into rock faces and cliffs which were decorated with frescoes.
Known today as Boğazkale. The more than 70 temples in the city made this the Hittite religious center and gave it the name “City of Temples”. The largest ruins are those of the great temple to the storm god Teshup. The acropolis contained government buildings, the Imperial Palace and the archives of the Hitttite Empire.
An open air rock pantheon dating from the 13th century B.C., contains fine reliefs of all the Hittite gods and goddesses.
North of Boğazkale on the road to Çorum, was the center of the flourishing Hattian culture during the Bronze Age. The magnificent Hattian gold and bronze objects in the Museum of Anatolian Civilization in Ankara were found in the Royal Tombs dating from this period. All the standing remains at Alacahöyük, such as the Sphinx Gate, date from the Hittite period.
One of the oldest cities of Turkey, was the capital of the Seljuk Empire between 1071 and 1308. Konya, known as Iconium in Roman times, was visited by St. Paul during his missionary journeys. Konya is also the city of Mevlana (Rumi) and the Whirling Dervishes.
