What's the capital of Turkey?

Geography pop quiz! Quick, what the capital of Turkey? Easy answer, right? Most people would get it wrong. The capital is not Istanbul (or Constantinople). Instead it is the city of Ankara, in central Turkey that takes the title.

Ankara's history, like so many places in Turkey, is an ancient one. But it was never a vital city. Sure, around 2,000 years ago the city's population was an estimated 200,000, but they were mostly traders, not scholars or politicians. But in the 1920's, as allied forces occupied most of western Turkey, including the then capital Istanbul, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk moved his centre of operations to the more centrally located Ankara. With Independence in 1923, Ankara was declared the official capital of the new Turkish Republic. At the time the population was only around 70,000, but since then it has exploded into a city of just under 4,000,000 today. But just because it's a political and administrative capital, doesn't mean that it's boring.

As I travel i do my best to take in the sights, meet new people and try local foods. But sometimes it's just not possible for me to give the time and attention to a place that i might deserve. Ankara was an example of this type of visit. I had been to Ankara about 5 years ago, when i was living in Turkey, but even then i didn't have time to get to know the city. My most recent visit was one of logistics. I had to put a lot of time and effort into securing an Algerian visa for late travels. I didn't get it in the end. And a new problem of registering my foreign phone in Turkey had to be taken care of their as no one in smaller cities new about the legislation. My phone never got service back. So i didn't have the time to do Ankara any justice.

The one thing i did manage to squeeze in, though, was Anitkabir (title picture). It is wonderful mausoleum for the founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk. The sight is almost a place of pilgrimage for Turkish nationalists. On any given day, you're almost guaranteed to see countless school groups making their way through the museums to the man's life and death. The image of the former president can be seen everywhere in Turkey. Post office walls, bazaar stall posters and even the money grace his likeness. He is held in the highest respect by the entire nation (well most people anyway). And his mausoleum reflects this admiration. From the gleaming marble to the honour guard to the prominent location in the city, everything about the place screams respect. While it might not have tremendous significance to the average traveller, it is certainly not a place to be missed in Ankara. And it's a pretty good reason just to come to the capital in the first place.

There are some highly rated museums in the city, like the museum of Anatolian civilization, which i didn't visit. Ankara Citadel stand proudly overlooking the city, i visited, but on a crappy day in low light (so no good pictures). Temples, ancient baths, massive mosques, great shopping, the list goes on and on of the things i just didn't have the time to see. I swear that at some point I'll have to go back to Ankara and give the city the time it deserves. It just wasn't this time.

Getting to Ankara couldn't be easier. While it seems every bus ends in Istanbul, it's pretty much assured that they'll have to pass through Ankara. The bus station is surprisingly well planned. And it's well connected by rail and buses to the rest of the city. With limited time in Turkey, there are often shockingly cheap flights from Istanbul as well. In the immortal words of one of the greatest cinematic geniuses of our time, Ankara "I'll be back!"