Ankara, Turkey’s Best Tourist Attraction Site – Places to Visit and Things to do
Ankara which is Turkey’s capital city is home to the State Ballet, Opera art performance, and some national theatre companies. Visiting Ankara will allow you to experience the best of Turkish culture and also derive entertainment from visiting the numerous attraction sites present in this city.
Geographical Location
Ankara is located in the Northwest of central Anatolia. It is found between the branches of river Kızılırmak and river Sakarya. Turkey borders the black sea, and it is located between Bulgaria and Georgia.
Best time to Go
To experience the warm weather found in Ankara during summer, you need to visit this city between June and October.
Fun Fact
Ankara was formerly known as the city of Angora. This is because the Angora goat is the symbolic animal in this town.
Useful Information
- Turkish is the official language in Turkey. English is rarely spoken.
- The Turkish lira is the official currency. Other currencies especially Euros and Dollars are accepted too.
- Although public transport is available, it is primarily dedicated to serving local people. For your transportation, you can use taxis and rental cars.
- You can wear pretty much anything that you are comfortable with. When you are visiting mosques, you will need to wear unrevealing and decent clothes.
What to do
- For an introduction to Turkey’s ancient past, you can visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.
- Visiting Anıt Kabir wh is the monumental mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who lived between the years 1881 and 1938, who founded modern Turkey. Visiting this place will offer you quite an experience as the majority of modern Turkey’s history is found here.
- Exploring the Ankara Citadel which is one of the archeological sites located in Ankara will allow you to see the ancient walls that date back to 7th century. You will also experience the Turkish culture as a lot of families still reside inside these walls.
- The Kocatepe Mosque which is the most significant place of worship in Ankara is worth visiting.
- Get to see what Roman lifestyle looked like in the 3rd century by visiting the Roman Baths. Here, you will get to see the Roman frigidarium (cold room), Roman apodyterium (dressing room), tepidarium (warm room), and caldarium (hot room).
Where to Eat
- Washington Restaurant – This restaurant is located in Ankara’s old town. They offer both Turkish and international delicacies.
- Trilye – This restaurant despite being located far away from the sea still serves their customers with delicious fish. On the menu, you will find meals like shellfish, swordfish, and octopus stew.
- Boyacizade Konagi – This restaurant will serve you with the best Turkish Cuisine and fish.
Where to Shop
- Armada Shopping Center – This shopping center was opened on September 28, 2002. Since then, they have been offering the best services to customers. You can shop for almost anything in this shopping center.
- ANKAmall – This is the second largest shopping center that you will find in Turkey. It opened its doors on 27 August 1999. The services and products you will find in this mall are all top quality.
- Karum Mall – You can literally shop for anything in this mall. You can shop for cosmetics, clothing, jewelry and even electronics.
If You Have Time
- It will take you only one hour to drive to Beypazarı which is a small town known for its mineral water, silverwork, and carrots. In the city, you will get to see Ottoman period buildings plus you get to eat a nice lunch in one of the restaurants available.
- Eskişehir which is located about 90 minutes out of Ankara harbors the best restaurants, a planetarium, and a Fairy Tale Castle. This is the place to take your kids.
- Altınköy is an open-air museum located only 30 minutes from Ankara. Visiting this place will allow you to see what Anatolian life looked like 100 years ago