Ankara City Guide

There are important districts in Ankara like Çankaya and Keçiören in terms of population. These two districts are the mega districts of Turkey with about 1 million population. Çankaya is also has an important feature for both Ankara and Turkey. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey which has about 100 year history for Turkey is located in Çankaya. The district is an important administrative center with many governmental instutitions. On the other hand, Sincan and Yenimahalle are important industrial centers of the city. Gölbaşı and Akyurt are the developing districts for both real estate and industrial investments in Ankara. For tourism, Kızılcahamam and Haymana districts attract the interest of tourist with special hot spring facilities.

The districts of Ankara are Akyurt, Altındağ, Ayaş, Balâ, Beypazarı, Çamlıdere, Çankaya, Çubuk, Elmadağ, Etimesgut, Evren, Gölbaşı, Güdül, Haymana, Kahramankazan, Kalecik, Keçiören, Kızılcahamam, Mamak, Nallıhan, Polatlı, Pursaklar, Sincan, Şereflikoçhisar and Yenimahalle. You will find detailed information for all districts of Ankara in this guide.

Short History of Ankara

From the early ages, Ankara is a geography dominated by different civilizations and  we can observe that Ankara is a city that has a permanent settlement. Archaeological finds as a result of researches in the region and surrounding area of the present-day Ankara city, cultural values of the collective life continuing in the region throughout the Neolithic and Copper Age starting from the Paleolithic period.  Therefore, the established order of the city goes back to ancient times, but despite all the archaeological findings, it is not known exactly who and when the city was founded. It is believed that Ankara and its environs were taken over by the Hittites and that they were settled in the region. A Hittite settlement was found in Bitik near the Mürted Plain and a settlement from the old Hittite period was unearthed during the excavation. In addition, the Gavurkale ruins, 60 km southwest of Ankara, are the traces of the Hittite period.

Established in April 23, 1920 Grand National Assembly of Turkey, it was declared as a center for the administration during the War of Independence. Ankara  was officially announced as the new capital of Turkey on October 13, 1923. Thus, the development of the city was paved the way for today. After the proclamation of the Republic on 29 October 1923 in Ankara, the symbol city of the National Struggle, reconstruction works began quickly. This beautiful and ancient city, which has a deep-rooted history and rich cultural heritage, has hosted many civilizations, has gained a new and different appearance with the first development works and the first steps of its development as a city have been taken.

Cultural Mosaic of Ankara

When we look at the cultural mosaic of Ankara from Today’s perspective, we can see this result clearly : The “Traditional Ankara” gives its place to “Modern Ankara” with a leading technological and developing parts of the city today. The mausoleum of M.Kemal ATATÜRK, the great leader and founder of Republic of Turkey, “Anıtkabir” is located in Ankara and it’s the symbol of city. Also, Ankara hosts many important museums. The Etnografya Museum and Anatolian Civilizations Museums are the most important museums of the city. However, for the concept of art, Ankara is an important center of the country. You will find many opera, bale and orchestra concerts in different locations the city. In addition, the theatre activities are so popular in the city.

Accommodation in Ankara is an important issue for people who visit city for different purposes like tourism or business. In Ankara, close to the city center, it is possible to find luxury hotels in all-inclusive concept and accommodation options that serve in bed and breakfast, half board and room concepts only. You can stay in Ankara hotels with pools as well as city hotels suitable for the needs of visitors coming to Ankara for business and conference purposes. If you want to get away from the city center of Ankara and benefit from the healing thermal waters, you can choose the thermal hotels in Kızılcahamam region. You can find a lot of accommodation alternatives in almost all districts of Ankara. There are world-famous hotel chains like Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson Blue, Park Inn, Ramada and Wyndham.

Continental climate is seen in Ankara. Summers are hot and dry, winters are cold and snowy. There is a lot of snowfall in December, January and February and the temperature can fall short. The best time to visit Ankara is May, June, September and October. Find the best hotels in Ankara in our guide easily.

If you are looking for real estate for sale in Ankara or real estate for rent in Ankara, you are on the right page.  The real estate sector is growing steadily in Ankara. The high supply of land makes Ankara much more attractive and preferred for branded housing manufacturers. It is possible to see housing projects of various construction brands in most parts of the city. In Ankara, where branded housing projects increase, housing prices are valued and rising accordingly.

In recent years, the desire of the people living in Ankara to go further away from the city center caused the development to shift out of the city center. In the last 10 years, urbanization is advancing rapidly in areas such as Batıkent, Eryaman, Gölbaşı, İncek and Çayyolu which are far from the city center. Since affordable and luxurious sites are built in these regions, it is preferred by those who want to invest. You can make the most correct investment by examining our ads for apartment options for sale from Ankara real estate agent. You can also add your listings easily if you are selling or renting a house in different districts of Ankara.

Do you want to get detailed information about hospitals in Ankara? If you’re, our special health guide will be helpful for you. In Ankara, there are 2 city hospitals, 20 state hospitals, 14 training and research hospitals, 9 university hospitals and more than 30 private hospitals. Almost all districts have hospitals in different regions of the city. You can get high-quality health services in many health instutitions in Ankara. Especially, new Ankara City Hospital and Etlik City Hospital are two of the modern hospitals of the city with their huge capacities.

If we look at the general perspective to Ankara, the city is located in Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. Thanks to the central location, there are many transportation alternatives for the city. You can reach Ankara by air, railway and road transportation. Ankara Esenboğa Airport is located 28 kilometers from the city center. You can come to the city center by using Havaş and BelkoAir services from the airport to Ankara Intercity Bus Terminal. If you want to come to Ankara by bus, there are bus services from many cities to Ankara. You can also go to Ankara by high-speed train from Istanbul, Izmir, Eskisehir and Konya.

Road Transportation

For the road transportation concept, Ankara is the most developed city of Turkey with wide roads and important highway connections. You can visit Ankara by TEM, E-5 and some other important roads from İstanbul, Eskişehir, Samsun, Bolu, Konya and many other cities. AŞTİ is the main bus station of Ankara and it’s located in Söğütözü, Çankaya district. You can find direct lines from many cities of Turkey to Ankara.

Air Transportation

Esenboğa Airport is the only civil airport in Ankara and it’s located in Çubuk district. It takes about 28 km. to the city center, so you can use Belko or Havaş services to reach city center from the airport. You can find direct international fligthts from Ankara to the important countries of the world like the USA, Italy, UK, Russia and Germany. Also, you can fly to many domestic cities of Turkey from Esenboğa Airport.

Railway Transportation

For the concept of railway transportation, Ankara can be defined as the most important transit point of Anatolian geography. It’s too easy to visit Ankara by high-speed trains from Istanbul, Eskişehir and Konya. Also, Ankara – Sivas high-speed train line will be completed in 2021 and it will start providing services. On the other hand, there are some important railway lines to the East cities of Turkey like “Doğu Express” and “Kurtalan Express”. These lines are preferred by touristic purposes generally.

Inner-city Transportation

There are metro, light rail system, cable car and bus transportation alternatives in Ankara. You can use all of the districts of the city by public transportation. The metro lines of the city :

M1 – Batıkent – Kızılay

M2 – Kızılay – Çayyolu

M3 – Batıkent – Törekent

M4 – Keçiören – AKM

Light Rail System : AŞTİ – Dikimevi

Başkentray : Sincan – Kayaş

You will find the answers of the “Best places to visit Ankara” or “Top 10 things to do and see in Ankara” questions in this guide. Choose your destination, click on the guide and start discovering Ankara deeply now. Ankara has a lot of places to visit. First of all, we should start with Anıtkabir, is the main symbol of Ankara. The construction of the architectural wonder building complex was deemed appropriate due to the way it reflects national feelings within the scope of the competition. Hamamönü is our second stop with historical houses. The residential area, which was restored to the city as a result of the frenetic work carried out by the Altındağ Municipality, hosts 250 buildings dating from the 19th century. Kızılay Square is the busiest point of Ankara and it’s a must-see destination. One of the most important centers of daily life in Ankara, Kızılay Square hosts numerous places that shopping lovers can enjoy. The square, which is close to the ever-lively Sakarya Street and the always-active Karanfil Street in terms of nightlife, takes its name from the headquarters of the Kızılay, which was once next to it. For more, check out our guide now !

There are 8 state and 13 foundation universites in different districts of Ankara. For educational perspective, we can say the universities in Ankara provide world-class education quality in different languages. Especially, Bilkent University and METU are so popular for international academic staff and educational quality worldwide. Find the best university in our guide below..