Ankara

About Ankara

Türkiye's capital, Ankara, is the city where a modern state was born. Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with its vast ceremonial plaza and austere grandeur, is the centre of national memory, walked with respect by visitors of every age. Yet Ankara's story is far older than the Republic. The narrow lanes within Ankara Castle, which looks down over the city, are lined with Ottoman houses and antique shops; the Hittite and Phrygian treasures of the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations lay bare a past thousands of years deep. With the lively cafés of Tunalı Hilmi and Kızılay, its venerable universities and rich museums, Ankara offers an unflashy but profound capital experience — and, with Ankara tava and its sesame simit, a warm Central Anatolian table.