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A contradiction in terms: Ankara
How many people come to Turkey and savor the delights of
Istanbul, luxuriate on the beaches of the Mediterranean or
take in the wealth of historic ruins that blanket the
country, but never set foot in the nation’s capital, Ankara?
Worse yet, how many Turks have never made the trip to visit
the heart of their country? Scorned by İstanbulites as a
place to get away from, with the high point of any visit the
trip back home, given only a cursory glance by guidebooks
and Web sites, and viewed by tour operators merely as a
brief stop on the way to Cappadocia, Ankara has hidden
treasures to share with all who dare to make the trek to
Turkey’s bureaucratic center.
Although the capital of a country of 73 million, Ankara is a
pleasant, leisurely paced metropolis of some 5 million
souls, replete with abundant greenery along its streets and
in its many parks. You’ll find block after block of the
mundane apartment building that monopolizes every Turkish
city, but you’ll also encounter ultra-modern towers, the
residents of which are certainly deserving of envy for their
luxurious abodes and spectacular vistas. There are, of
course, the architecturally maligned government bureaus
spread throughout the city, but there are also flashy new
shopping centers, innovative restaurants, in-crowd bars,
chic art galleries, venerable department stores and trendy
boutiques. Turkey’s capital only since the establishment of
the republic in 1923, Ankara isn’t lacking in historic
attributes, either, boasting sites as diverse as Roman baths
and the country’s first parliament building.
The bustling capital is full of contrasts: a modern, vibrant
city also containing an old town that transports visitors to
another era; the most modern of transportation moving the
city from place to place side-by-side with horse-drawn
buggies carrying fruits and vegetables for sale in the old
part of town; space-age shopping centers drawing hordes on
the weekends competing with traditional bazaars where
vendors ply their wares the old-fashioned way, by
bargaining; contemporary skyscrapers sitting in the midst of
shanty houses; Western-dressed women walking arm-in-arm with
ladies in headscarves -- it’s all here, under the brilliant
Anatolian sky.
Not what I’d call a beautiful city, Ankara is full of its
own particular brand of beauty, if you just know where to
look. A landlocked capital, it lacks the majestic waterways
found elsewhere in the country yet has a lake at Gölbaşı
that has become a favorite for fish lovers, picnickers and
recreation seekers. Sitting high on a high plateau in
Central Anatolia, it enjoys an extremely dry, humidity-free
climate that should be the envy of wet-city dwellers, with
four distinct seasons affording residents a sometimes-snowy
but more often crisp winter, a flower-filled spring, a
brilliant, blue-skied summer and a fall that dresses the
city in sparkling golds and reds.
Ankara welcomes tourists yet, unlike other cities in Turkey,
doesn’t overwhelm or antagonize them. Carpets, handcrafts,
jewelry are all easily available here, but minus the
aggressive tactics normally found in other tourist centers.
When a Turk tries to talk to you here, it’s usually because
they want to have a conversation, not trick you into a glass
of tea as a prelude for a big sales pitch on an overpriced
carpet. Taxi drivers don’t as a rule speak English, but a
few intelligible words are sufficient to gain you a
knowledgeable chauffer, and one who isn’t out to make his
fortune by taking the unwitting visitor on a protracted and
unnecessary tour of the metropolis. Ankarans are generally
warm and welcoming of visitors, eager to help a lost tourist
and happy to share their city and culture.
Word has it that Ankara is a “dead” city, devoid of any
nightlife, but in fact it is home to a host of bars and
nightclubs that give lie to the stories of a place that
rolls up its sidewalks after the bureaucrats go home. It
also plays host to several symphony orchestras and the state
opera and theater troupes, providing residents with a steady
diet of the higher reaches of artistic endeavor. Not content
to entertain music lovers with only its local artistes, the
city is also a frequent destination for visiting performers,
whether classical or rock, folk or modern, high brow or
pedestrian.
As the nation’s first city, Ankara is home to the country’s
foreign missions, providing it with a colorful kaleidoscope
of languages and dress, customs and galas, flags and
architecture, pomp and circumstance. On almost any given
day, a glimpse can be caught of some dignitary, whether
visiting or homegrown, albeit causing some slowdowns in the
city’s otherwise orderly (for a Turkish city, that is)
traffic patterns. Speaking of which, Ankara is devoid for
the most part of the nightmarish traffic that dominates the
streets of other Turkish metropolises, blessedly lacking the
two-hour commute and the hours it can take to cover absurdly
short distances. A modern metro runs under a large part of
the city, while myriad dolmuş, busses and taxis rule the
city’s surface streets.
Although in the past ridiculed for its woefully inadequate
airport serving a modern-day capital city, Ankara now boasts
a modern terminal that is said to rival any in Europe. While
lacking the cruise ships that frequent some Turkish tourist
destinations, its central location provides an easy
jumping-off point to all parts of the county, be it the far
reaches of eastern Anatolia, the exotic aura of the
Southeast, the luscious greens of the Black Sea, the
moonscapes of Cappadocia, the sun and sand of the
Mediterranean or the cold, brilliant waters and historical
wealth of the Aegean.
While some of the flashier universities reside elsewhere in
Turkey, Ankara has no shortage of prestigious institutions
of higher learning, including the Ankara, Gazi, Middle East
Technical, Hacettepe, Başkent and Bilkent universities, all
well regarded centers of academia in their own right. And
not to be outdone by the cultural collections found
elsewhere in the country, Ankara houses countless museums
and cultural landmarks, among them the esteemed Museum of
Anatolian Civilizations, which provides testament to the
many peoples over the millennia who have called this land
their home. The city also boasts actual forests, stands of
trees that breathe fresh air into the urban atmosphere and
that haven’t been cut down to make way for residential
development, legal or otherwise, along with its very own
farm started by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the
Turkish Republic.
And lest you are taken in by the claims of non-Ankarans that
there “is nothing to see in Ankara,” here are only a few of
the many sights worth visiting:
Anıtkabir -
The spectacular mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the
father of modern Turkey, sits on a hill overlooking the city
and is a premiere attraction for Turks and foreigners alike.
A monumental piece of 1945-era architecture that includes
the final resting place of both Ataturk and second President
of Turkey İsmet İnönü, Anıtkabir also features a museum
displaying the personal belongings of the great leader, a
ceremonial ground, a series of towers depicting important
symbols of Turkey in relief, a Lion’s Road protected by 24
Hittite-style statues and a Peace Park nurturing plants from
all over the world.
Kale area - Graced by a citadel believed to date back to
Galatian times but enhanced and enlarged by various
successive civilizations, this oldest part of Ankara
transports the visitor into another time and place. A maze
of narrow streets lined with old houses and even older
mosques jarred into the present by the occasional restaurant
take the visitor on a fascinating trip into traditional
Ankara. The streets leading up the hill to this area are
packed with carpet, antique and handcraft shops, offering
some of the best and most entertaining shopping in the city.
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations - Located just below the
citadel area, this museum is jointly housed in an old
Ottoman bedesten (bazaar) and a han, or caravansary, dating
to the 15th century. This unique institution offers an
outstanding collection of Anatolian archeology starting with
the Paleolithic era and extending through the Neolithic,
Phrygian, Urartu and Hittite eras as well as presenting
artifacts from the Hellenistic, Greek, Roman and Byzantine
periods.
Atakule - A 125-meter communications and observation tower
sitting high on a hill with a spectacular view of the entire
city, Atakule also features a revolving restaurant on top
and a shopping mall below.
Turkish Grand National Assembly Museum - Located in the
country’s first Parliament building in Ulus and completed in
1920, the museum presents exhibits that include the chancery
of state, committee rooms, a conference hall, a presidential
room, all decorated with photographs and furniture of the
period.
Kocatepe Mosque - This striking house of worship was built
in the late 20th century along Ottoman lines, with four
minarets. Its prominent location makes it a landmark visible
from almost anywhere in the city, while its monumental
exterior and interior make it a worthwhile visit.
Ethnographic Museum - This interesting museum contains
examples of ethnography and Turkish art from Anatolia
including clothing, embroidery, and old Ankara house,
tapestries, crafts, written works, wood carvings and Seljuk
and Ottoman-era artifacts.
Çengelhan Rahmi M. Koç Museum - Located in an old-quarter
caravanserai dating to 1522, this new museum features
displays on engineering, transportation, scientific
instruments and other industrial endeavors. .
Temple of Augustus - Built by the Galatians and
reconstructed by the Romans in the second century, the
temple houses the sole surviving political testament of
Emperor Augustus detailing his achievements in Latin and
Greek. It was converted into a church by the Byzantines..
Roman Bath - With all the features of a classical Roman
bath, the structure was built during the reign of Emperor
Caracalla in the third century. Today only the basement and
first floors remain.
Hacı Bayram Mosque - This mosque was built in the early 15th
century in Selçuk style and was subsequently restored by
Sinan, the great Ottoman architect, in the 16th century.
Estergon Turkish Culture Center Located in Ankara’s Keçiören
district, this magnificent structure, completed in 2004, was
named after a castle in Hungary. The Islamic-style citadel
features a dazzling array of Ottoman wall miniatures, wood
carvings, stonework, stained-glass windows, furnishings and
decorations along with a restaurant and shops. Although a
bit far from the city center, this unique center is well
worth a visit.
31.01.2007
HELEN BETTS İSTANBUL
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=102116
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