LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Ankara
built 289 days ago
Ankara today is a center of history and culture. The Ethnographical Museum and the Sculpture and Painting Museum are noteworthy for their wide collections of artifacts from the area. The performances of the well-known philharmonic orchestra and frequent artistic events include ballet, theater, opera and folk-dancing. In addition are two yearly international festivals: "The Arts and Music Festival" and the "Children's Festival", both held every April. Also present around the city are some sites of natural importance, such as the lakes of Golbasi, Cubuk Dam, Kurtbogazi Dam, Karagol for resting, and Mount Elmadag for winter sports. In addition, Kizilcahamam is a thermal and hot springs center for places such as Ayas, Haymana and Beypazari.
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Ankara has been a trading center since ancient times. Hittites occupied the site about 2000 BC. They were succeeded by the Phrygians about 1000 BC. Alexander the Great subdued the city in 333 BC; after his death, conquering Gallic tribes (Galatians) made it their capital. Known as Ancyra, it came under Roman rule in 189 BC, and in 25 BC it became capital of the province of Galatia Prima. Later a major city of the Byzantine Empire, it was successively occupied by Persians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and Latin Crusaders.
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Ankara has many delightful parks and open spaces established in the early years of the Republic in accordance with Ataturk’s belief in the importance of trees and natural beauty. The most important of these parks are: Genclik Park (which ... has an amusement park), the Botanical Garden, Segmenler, Anayasa, Kugulu, Abdi Ipekci, Guven, Demetevler, Cemre, Kale, Anit, Kurtulus(for ice skating) and Altin Park(fairground).
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Located 25 km southwest of Ankara on the Konya Highway, on the shores of Lake Mogan, it has restaurants and coffeehouses as well as a beach and teahouses. This recreational area makes the summer heat more tolerable, especially the swimming pool beside the lake, which is ... an excellent place for canoeing. There is a good range of transport provided by city buses.
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The city of Ankara lies in the center of Anatolia on the eastern edge of the great, high Anatolian Plateau, at an altitude of 850 meters. It is the center of the province with the same name, which is a predominantly fertile wheat steppeland, with forested areas in its northeast region. It is bordered by the provinces of cankiri and Bolu to the north, Eskisehir to the west, Konya and Aksaray to the south, and Kirikkale and Kirsehir to the east. The region's history goes back to the Bronze-Age Hatti Civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millenium B.C. by the Hittites, then the Phrygians (10th century B.C.); Lydians and Persians followed. After these came the Galatians, a Celtic race who were the first to make Ankara their capital (3rd century B.C.). It was then known as Ancyra,meaning 'anchor' (which is one of the oldest words in the language of the sea-loving Celts).
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Unlike Istanbul, vulnerable for centuries to neighboring countries with imperialistic motives, Ankara lies deep within the heartland, protected and insulated from uninvited guests. Atatürk deliberately chose Ankara for his new republic; while Istanbul was the seat of an imperial and dissolute empire, he saw Ankara as the clean-slate capital of an entirely new Turkish state. In the 80 years since Atatürk rode in on a dirt road and literally lifted Ankara out of the ashes, the city has established itself as the political and cultural center of Turkey. Ankara is almost exclusively geared toward sustaining a wide-ranging population of foreign ambassadors, visiting dignitaries, local politicians, and politically minded business enterprises. If you're looking for a good English pub, then you've come to the right place. It ... boasts a number of prestigious universities and technical colleges, as well as the largest library in the country.
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Ankara