Ankara Attractions

This small 13th century mosque south of the Arslanhane Camii in Ankara was renovated in 1413, resulting in the building seen today. Endowed by the Ahi brotherhood it is a typical "forest mosque", with a flat timber ceiling supported on twelve wooden columns. Note also the carving on the staircase pulpit and window shutters (1413/14).

On the Istanbul Caddesi, the main road west out of Ankara, the Çubuk Çayi is spanned by an old seven-arch bridge. An inscription on its west side attributes its construction to the Seljuk governor Kizilbey in 1222.

Although restored in intervening centuries, the Alaeddin Camii, in the inner citadel immediately behind the Parmak Kapi in Ankara, was built in 1178 at the time of the Seljuk Sultan Izz Eddin Kiliç Aslan II. The carving on the staircase pulpit is particularly fine.

Ankara's Metro system is a work in progress, with some lines completed, others under construction, and still more that are being contemplated.

In addition to the metro lines there is also a rail system that serves the outer communities of Ankara.

This house, Atatürk's residence in the early days of the Republic, stands in the park behind the Presidential Palace in Ankara. It is now a museum with a collection of memorabilia of the founder of modern Turkey.

A visit to the Atatürk Orman Ciftligi, a model farm which at one time lay within the afforested area outside the city, is one of Ankara's most popular outings. It has good restaurants and a swimming pool shaped like the Black Sea.

In the 1930s a solitary black pine (pinus negra) growing on a north-facing slope half way up Ankara's "Apple Mountain" (Elma Dag: 1,862m/6,111ft; a few kilometers southeast of the city) came suddenly to scientific prominence. With the help of other evidence it enabled the geographer Herbert Louis to demonstrate that large parts of Central Anatolia were formerly forested.

The "Youth Park", a large green expanse south of Ulus Meydani in the heart of Ankara, was another of Atatürk's inspirations. Laid out as part of the development of the New Town it replaced what had previously been a swamp. Together with the adjoining "Luna Parki" (entrance fee), the Gençlik Parki with its tea gardens and restaurants, fountains and artificial lakes (pedalos) is a source of great pleasure to Ankarans - as also is its "Wedding House" to the capital's bridal couples.

Built in 1925 the Halk Evi (or People's House), is located on a small rise beyond the university in Ankara.

The building was designed to be a center for the people, offering public access to art, history, sports and more.

In the Old Town of Ankara, the rectangular Hükümet Meydani, 200m/220yds or so northeast of Ulus Meydani, is adorned with the 15m/49ft high Julian's Column (also known as the Belkis Minaresi), probably erected in A.D. 362 to commemorate the visit of the Emperor Julian Apostatas. The shaft of the column is horizontally grooved and the Byzantine capital embellished with a leaf pattern.

Located in the Kocatepe district of Ankara east of Kizilay Meydani the new Ottoman-style Kocatepe Camii is the largest mosque in Turkey. Built in the 1970s it is the most obvious manifestation of the Islamic revival to be seen in Ankara today.

The red porphyry "New Mosque", opposite the central prison in the easterly district of Dörtyol, was founded in 1565 by Cenabi Ahmet Pasa, governor of Ankara under Süleiman I. It was probably the work of the great Ottoman master builder Sinan or one of his pupils. The pulpit and prayer niche are of white marble. Next to the mosque there is a türbe.

Ankara's opera house, in the Atatürk Bulvari immediately adjacent to Gençlik Parki, was the first to be built in Turkey. Designed by the German architect P. Bonatz it was created from a former exhibition hall.

The mining institute (M.T.A. Genel Müdürlügü; Maden Tektik ve Arama Enstitüsü), 5km/3mi outside Ankara on the Eskisehir road, has a small but interesting museum with numerous fossils.