Turkey. Ankara and the central Anatolian region

CENTRAL ANATOLIA The central Anatolian plateau forms the heartland of Turkey: ochre-hued, cleft by ravines and dominated by volcanic peaks. The boldly contoured steppe has a solitary majesty covered with whea t fields framed by ranks of poplars.

This plateau was also a cradle of human civ-

Du ring its turbulent history . Central

ilization. At Catalhoyuk. remains of settle-

Anatolia has endured invasion by great con-

ments as old as the eighth millenn ium B.C.

quero rs, such as Alexande r the Great and

have been unearthed . Here in the homeland

Tamerlane. In the course of ten millennia of

of many civilizations and the historic baule-

habitation , the denizens of the area have

ground between East and West, the Hanis,

reflected in their an the dramatic contours

Hittites, Phrygians, Galatians , Romans ,

of the surrou nding landscape, from the vig-

Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans all fought for their sovereignty and established their

orous paintings of Catalhoyuk and the conAnka ra (Angora ) cat

fident lines of Seljuk architecture, to, more

rule. In the l Ith century, migrating Tur ks

recently. the impressive modem form of

from the east made the plateau their own .

Ataturk's mausoleum.

ANKARA location for military transportation and

The city of Ankara lies in the center of Anatolia on the eastern edge of the great,

natural resources, to Tur kish territory.

high Anatolian Plateau, at an altitude of 850 meters. The province is a predomi-

The city was an important cultural, trading , and arts center in Roman times, and an

nantly fertile wheat steppeland, with forest-

important trading center on the caravan

ed areas in the northeast. It is bordered by the provinces of Cankm and Bolu to the

declined in importance by the nineteenth

north , Eskisehir to the west, Kenya and

century. It again became an important cen-

Aksaray to the south, and Kmkkale and Ktrsehir to the east.

from which to direct the War of Liberation.

route to the east in Ottoman times. It had

ter when Kemal Ataturk chose it as the base

The region's history goes back to the

By consequence of its role in the war and

Bronze Age Hatti civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium

its strategic position, it was declared the

B.c. by

capital of the new Republic of Turkey on

the Hittites, in the 10th century B.C.by the

October 13th, 1923.

Phrygians, then by the Lydians and Persians. After these came the Galatians, a

SITES TO SEE

Celtic race who were the first to make

Anu kabir (Atatiirk Mauso leum): Located

Ankara their capital in the 3rd century B.C.

on an imposing hill in the Anutepe quarter

It was then known as Ancyra, meaning

of the city stands the mausoleu m of Kemal

"anchor," one of the oldest words in the

Ataturk. founder of the Republic of Turkey.

language of the sea-loving Celts. The city

Completed in 1953, it is an impressive

subsequently fell to the Romans, and to the

fusion of ancient and modern architectural

Byzantines. Seljuk Sultan Alparsl an opened the door into Anatolia for theTurks

ideas and remains un surpa ssed as an accomplishment of modern Tur kish archi-

at the victory of Malazgirt in 1071. Then in 1073, he annexed Ankara, an importan t

Mustafa Kemal Atat ur k

tecture. There is a museum housing a supe-

rior wax statue of Ataturk ; writings, letters

across the street from Ulus Square, is in

and items belongin g to Ataturk . as well as

what was originally the first parliament

an exhibition of photographs recording

building of the Republic of Turkey. There

imponant moment s in his life and in the

the \Var of Liberation was planned and

establishment of the Republic. (Arutkabir is

dir ected as recorded in various pho -

open everyday. and the museum every day

tographs and items on exhibition. In anoth-

except Mondays. During the sum mer, there

er display are wax figures of former presi-

is a light and sound show in the evenings) .

dents of the Republic of Turkey. (Open every day, except Monday). The Museu m of th e Republi c, close to the

MUSEUMS

Liberation War Museum, is housed in what

The Museum of Ana tolian Civilizatio ns the citadel entrance. An old

was the second parliament build ing of the

bedesten (covered bazaar) has been beauti-

Republi c. Th e exhib ition here records

fully restored and now houses a marvelou s

important events in the early republi can

is close

to

unique collection of Paleolithic,

penod . (Open every day, except Monday).

Neolithic, Hatn, Hittite, Phrygian , Uranian ,

Ataturk's House is on the grounds of the

and

and Roman wor ks and showpiece Lydian treasur es. (O pen

every

da y,

excep t

Pai nli ng and Scul ptu re MU"Oeum

Presidential Palace in Cankaya and was Ataturk's house after the founding of the

Monday. During the summer, the museum

Rep ublic. The hou se is much as it was in

ope ns e\'ery day).

Ataturk's day, and exhibits phot ographs

Th e Ethnograph y Museum is oppo site the

that

Opera House on Talat ra sa Boulevard.

Sundays and on religious and national hol-

reco rd important events. (O pen

There is a fine collection of folkloric arti-

idays, 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm).

facts as well as artifacts from Seljuk and

The Nat u ral Histo ry Muse u m can be

Otto man mosques. (Open every day ,

foun d on the ground s o f the MTA

except Monday).

(Mineral Res ear ch and

Th e Paint ing and Sculpt ure Muse um is

Instit ut e) on the Esktsehir road in Ankara.

Exp loration

close to the Ethnograph y Museum and

The displays record the evolut ionary devel-

houses a rich collecuon of Turkish an from

opment of the world . (O pen every day

the late 19th century to the present day.

except religious holidays).

There are also galleries for guest exhibi-

PTT Mus eum collections were begun

tions. (Open every day, except Monday).

between 1880 and 1888 by then Postal

Th e Liberation \Var Museum , diagonally

Director lzzet Efendi, The Museum in

Ahmdag was opened in 198 2. and cont ains

and technology of edu cation in Turk ey. It is

a postal displ ay. a telegraph and telephone

located in Ankara Gazi University, in the

display, and a stamp display. (Open week-

Besevler district. (O pen weekda ys).

days).

The To y Museum in Cebeci hou ses toys of

The T RT Mus eum (Turki sh Radio &;[ Tele-

all kinds made of wood . metal. porcelain .

vision Broadcastin g) has exhibits from the

paper , etc. (O pen Wedn esdays and Fridays

beginning of radio in Turk ey, including an-

from 10 am to 5 pm ).

tique phonographs and radios. It is located

METU Mus eum on the campus of Middle

in the TRT Genera l Directo rate building in

East Techni cal University has archeological

the Oran district. (O pen Mon .,\Ved ., Fri.,

arti facts and eth nogra phic displays. (Open

II am . 3 pm).

weekdays , 9:30 am to 3:30 pm) .

Mehm et Akif Ersoy Mus eu m . on the Ha-

T.C. l iraa t Museu m at the Ulus bra nch of

ceuepe Universi ty Centra l Campus, com-

the bank dis plays a rich collection of coins

memorates the famous national poet who .

and money in a bu ilding of architectural

in this house. wrote the text of th e Turki sh nation al anthe m. as well as songs of inde-

~I ol hu goddn, from ( atalho)it k. " u