Ankara
As we were driving towards Ankara from Cappadocia, my friend Muhammed told me with a smile on his face, “You know, one of our famous poets once said, ‘The only thing I look forward to about Ankara is going back to Istanbul.‘ ” And to be honest, that’s what I felt too. I always try to find ways to enjoy every city and every town I visit. But sometimes it’s just really hard to do that, Ankara being an example.
For those of you who don’t know, Ankara is the capital city of Turkey. That’s right, it’s not Istanbul. A lot of people don’t know this and frankly I sometimes forget too since Istanbul is the first thing we think of when we hear about the country Turkey. The reason Ankara is the capital is because Atatürk, the founder of Turkey, decided that the old Ottoman capital of Istanbul was too hard to defend against enemy attack. So he moved the capital to Ankara, which is deeper inland.
The fact that Ankara is the capital city of Turkey is about the only reason why you should visit it. You can visit the tomb of Atatürk, which is a huge complex with two museums. You can visit the buildings that housed the first congresses of the Turkish Republic. You can even visit the Presidential Complex (make sure you bring your passport though). The Complex also holds one big mosque and one huge library. The library, officially the Nations’ Library of the Presidency, is basically the Turkish version of the Library of Congress. Inaugurated in 2020, the library holds over four million books and millions of articles.
And that’s about it. I will say this though, Ankara may be boring but it’s got a really rich history. The city has been under the control of various kingdoms and empires including the Greeks, Persians, Romans, and Celts. The name “Ankara” itself is probably from the Greek word Ἄγκυρα (Ánkyra) meaning “anchor”. You can see the various historical artefacts found in the city in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. I did’t get the chance to go, but I bet it would be worth it.
Another point for Ankara is that the food is amazing. There are tons of great restaurants. I would personally recommend eating at places called “Ciğerci", meaning “liver maker/worker”. You guessed it, they specialise in liver. If you’re not used to the taste of liver (too gamey and irony for my taste), they serve delicious skewered kebabs called çöp şiş (chöp shish) that you can wrap in a piece of lavash and enjoy. This was honestly one of my favourite dishes in Turkey by the way. Mersinli Ciğerci Apo is a great place for the çöp şiş. For dessert, Sıtkı Usta Künefe is the place to go. They serve amazing künefe, which is like a spun pastry stuffed with cheese. You can get that with dondurma and then not be able to stand for like an hour.
The thing with Ankara is that I can’t recommend you visit it unless you’ve got loads of time on your hands. You’re not going to miss anything by not going to Ankara. The only reason you might go is because it’s where Atatürk was laid to rest, or because you just want to say that you’ve been to the capital, which is chill too. If you’re willing to visit, Ankara is easily a one-day thing. Nothing more. It’s a city with a very rich past, but today it’s just nothing more than what it is - a city.
Things to do -
Visit the Atatürk Mausoleum (see the changing of the guards and visit the museums)
Visit the Presidential Complex (you can also visit the library and mosque. Bring your passport)
Visit Ankara Castle (has best views of the city)
Visit Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
Eat
