Ankara - Surroundings

In otherwise treeless steppe country near the village of Beynam, about 35km/22mi southeast of Ankara on the road to Bala and Kirsehir, are vestiges of a large forest, further evidence that vast areas of Central Anatolia were at one time densely wooded.

The district town of Beypazari, on the site of the ancient Lagania Anastasiopolis, enjoys a lovely setting (scenic rock formations) on the southern edge of the Pontus Mountains about 100km/62mi west of Ankara. It boasts not only an interesting Old Town with Pontic-style houses but also a number of 15th century mosques (including the Ala Eddin Camii) and an Ottoman caravanserai, the Sulu Han.

Ayas, about 70km/43mi west of Ankara, principal town of its district, has some typical Pontic half-timbered houses, an old and interesting wooden mosque, and well-known thermal springs. There are more mineral springs at Ayas Içmecesi, a small place some 20km/12.5mi further west.

One of western Anatolia's most intriguing landscapes is encountered a few kilometers west of the small lignite mining town of Çayirhan, where the Nallihan road crosses the northern arm of the Sakarya Dam (Sariyer Baraji; 84sq.km/32sq.mi, 1.9 billion cu.m/2.5 billion cu.yd). On both sides of the road different colored layers of clay and marl lie exposed, producing a striking effect. (N.B. In wet weather the softened clays become treacherous.)

A very famous gold and electrum Hittite statuette (Bronze Age, ca. 2000 B.C., now in the Hittite Museum) was discovered in a grave near the village of Hasanoglan (or Hasanoglu) some 37km/23mi east of Ankara. Nearby is a weathered rock relief, possibly Roman, and in the village itself Roman mitones from the first century A.D.

About 85km/53mi northeast of Ankara the ruins of a fortress of Roman origin can be seen on a volcanic cone overlooking the district town of Kalecik; they are thought to be ancient Acitoriciacum. The Byzantines enlarged the stronghold in the 11th century to secure the nearby ford over the Kizilirmak against the Danishmendids. Segments of the bastion and foundations still survive, fashioned from huge blocks of volcanic rock. Spanning the Kizilirmak is an Ottoman bridge.

1,400m/4,600ft up in the eastern Köroglu Daglari, roughly 64km/40mi north of the capital, there are a number of popular summer resorts with springs, pools and a small mountain lake (Karagöl) with crystal-clear water. The main resort is Kizikuyu (Karagöl).

Although this 20m/65ft-high hüyük (old settlement mound; east of the Konya road, 30km/19mi south of Ankara) has little to show today in the way of ruins, it has yielded relics of every era from the Copper Age to Seljuk times. The foundations of a Phrygian citadel were exposed during excavations between 1937 and 1945 (finds in the Hittite Museum).

The verdant countryside around Sehler Yaylasi, a resort in the hills just to the south of Çamlidere about 100km/62mi northwest of Ankara, is a popular place of escape in summer. Sehler Yaylasi is also the venue for a famous wrestling competition held annually in a large wooden arena set among the trees.