Ankara, Turkey

Evergreen city guide with quick facts, travel, business, and culture.

TurkeyAnkara

Overview

Ankara is the capital most visitors skip — and that's precisely what makes it interesting. A Hittite, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman city turned modernist republic capital, it rewards anyone willing to look beyond the government buildings.

Republic Heritage & Anıtkabir

Atatürk's monumental mausoleum, the first Grand National Assembly, the War of Independence Museum, and early Republican architecture — Ankara is where modern Turkey was born and where that story is told most powerfully.

Ancient Civilizations Museum

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations covers 10,000 years from Çatalhöyük to Rome — Hittite reliefs, Phrygian treasure from King Midas's tomb, and artifacts from civilizations that shaped Anatolia before the Turks arrived.

Citadel & Ottoman Quarter

The hilltop fortress with Roman-era walls, Ottoman wooden houses, narrow cobblestone streets, antique shops, and panoramic views across the Anatolian steppe — Ankara's history compressed into a single walkable neighborhood.

Anatolian Cuisine

Ankara tava in clay pots, crispy Ankara-style döner, student-budget Anatolian cooking in Beşevler, 24-hour Aspava restaurants, and a café culture fueled by half a million university students.

Day Trips to Ancient Sites

Gordion's King Midas tumulus, Hattusa's Hittite capital with monumental stone gates, Tuz Gölü's pink salt flats, and Safranbolu's UNESCO Ottoman wooden houses — all within 2-3 hours of the capital.

Modernist Architecture

The planned capital's 1920s-30s buildings — Ethnography Museum, government ministries, Atatürk Boulevard's geometric urbanism — reveal the architectural ambitions of a new nation deliberately designing its own identity.

History

Ankara (ancient Ancyra) was a significant Hittite, Phrygian, Roman, and Byzantine settlement before becoming a modest Ottoman town. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk chose it as the capital of the new Turkish Republic in 1923, deliberately selecting an Anatolian city over Ottoman Istanbul to signal a break with the imperial past. The city was then redesigned as a modern planned capital with help from European urbanists.

Culture

Ankara tava (slow-cooked lamb in clay pot) is the signature dish — try at Hacıbey or any Ulus lokanta. Ankara-style döner is thinner and crispier. Aspava chain for 24/7 etli ekmek. Student eats in Beşevler. Trilye for upscale seafood in Çankaya. Festivals: Ankara International Film Festival (March), Ankara Music Festival (April), Republic Day celebrations (October 29 — major events at Anıtkabir), Youth and Sports Day (May 19). Museums: Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ethnography Museum, War of Independence Museum, Rahmi Koç Museum Ankara, CerModern (contemporary art), State Art and Sculpture Museum.

Practical Info

Safety: Very safe — Ankara is a government and university city with heavy police presence. Lower crime rates than Istanbul. Standard precautions apply. Protests occasionally near Kızılay Square. Language: Turkish. English less common than in Istanbul — university areas (Çankaya, Bahçeli) are better. Hotel and museum staff generally speak English. Basic Turkish very helpful. Currency: Turkish Lira (TRY/₺). Cards widely accepted in modern areas. Cash useful in Ulus old town and smaller shops. ATMs everywhere.
Travel Overview

Ankara became Turkey's capital in 1923 when Atatürk deliberately chose an Anatolian city over cosmopolitan Istanbul to signal the republic's break with the Ottoman past. The result is a planned modern capital grafted onto an ancient settlement — Roman baths sit beneath government ministries, a Hittite citadel overlooks Stalinist-scale boulevards, and the world-class Museum of Anatolian Civilizations occupies a 15th-century covered market. Ankara's main draw is Anıtkabir, Atatürk's mausoleum — a monumental complex on a hilltop that functions as Turkey's national shrine, visited by millions annually and genuinely moving regardless of your politics. The old city (Ulus and the Citadel) preserves Ottoman wooden houses, narrow streets, and views across the Anatolian steppe. The modern city (Kızılay, Çankaya, Tunalı Hilmi) has universities, parks, embassy compounds, and a cafe culture driven by its 500,000+ students. Ankara's food scene is underrated: the city claims ownership of Ankara tava (lamb stew), has excellent döner kebab (Ankara-style, thinner and crispier), and the Beşevler area delivers some of Turkey's best budget eating. It's not Istanbul — it's not trying to be. Ankara is where you understand modern Turkey.

Discover Ankara

Anıtkabir (literally 'memorial tomb') is where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, rests — and it functions as Turkey's most important national monument. The complex sits on a hilltop in central Ankara: a ceremonial approach (the Lion Road, lined with 24 Hittite-style lion statues), a vast courtyard paved in travertine, and the Hall of Honor containing the massive sarcophagus (the actual burial is in a chamber below). The architecture is deliberately modernist-monumental — borrowing from ancient Anatolian, Seljuk, and Ottoman traditions while rejecting all of them in favor of something new, which mirrors Atatürk's political project. The on-site museum covers the War of Independence, Atatürk's personal effects (including his library, clothes, and cars), and the founding of the republic. The changing of the guard ceremony happens every hour. Entry is free. Photography is permitted but visitors are expected to maintain silence in the Hall of Honor. Allow 2-3 hours. The surrounding park, Anıtpark, offers views across the city.

Diplomatic missions in Ankara

3 embassies based in this city, grouped by region.