Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, is the second largest city after Istanbul. It offers numerous avenues of interest for tourists including a host of museums, prominent landmarks, archaeological remains and a number of interesting activities. It is a strategically located city, right in the heart of the country and a pretty historic region as well.
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Ankara offers quite a lot to the tourists. The prominent places of interest include Anitkabir museum, Atakule Tower, Ankara Ethnography Museum, Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, State Art and Sculpture Museum, War of Independence Museum, Ankara Aviation Museum, Roman era theater and bath, Citadel and Temple of Augustus.
Anitkabir is an interesting mausoleum which is dedicated to the founder of Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It is located in the Anittepe quarter of Ankara and has a unique location as it is situated on top of a hill. It is a must visit place to have a glimpse into the chain of events that led to foundation of this city.
The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations houses a large number of artifacts from various civilizations in Anatolia and Asia. Quite interestingly, Paleolithic era artifacts have been displayed here as well. This museum is considered to be the best in entire Turkey and is a must visit one as well.
Tourists can also visit the War of Independence Museum, located in the Ulus Square. It was the original host of the Turkish Parliament. It was this place where the War of Independence of the country was directed from. Some interesting photographs relating to that era have been displayed here along with wax statues of former presidents of Turkey.
Another interesting museum which is worth a visit in the city is the Ankara Museum of Aviation. Here, one can see a large collection of actual aviation items, aircrafts, missiles and other interesting stuff. Art enthusiasts can visit the State Art and sculpture museum, which is renowned for housing Turkish art from early 19th century to this date.
When in Ankara do not forget to enjoy the traditional music and folk dance. Big concert halls, restaurants and pubs can be found hosting some interesting events that are worth visiting. There are quite a lot of good quality restaurants dotted around the city which should be visited for enjoying the delicious local cuisine. Food items like kebabs and lahmacun are quite tasty and ought to be tried.
One may find a couple of worth visiting places around the city. The towns of Beypazari, Gordion, Kizilcahamam and Bogazkale etc are such interesting towns that are renowned for quite a lot of things ranging from ancient era remnants, traditional houses, and thermal springs etc. Keep some spare time though, as covering all of these may require much beyond a week.
Ankara is well connected with rest of the world with its international airport which is catered to by all major airlines of the world. Regular train service connects it with rest of the country and is pretty comfortable as per European standards.
