Ankara

Eat

thumb|Traditional Ottoman houses in Hamamönü Ankara has a variety of local/traditional and international food restaurants such as Asian, French, Italian, Persian and Somalian cuisine throughout the city.

Sleep

thumb | Windmill at Altınköy Open Air Museum Accommodation is clustered in Ulus north of the railway station, in Sıhhiye south of the tracks, and in Kızılay further south. A strip of mid-range business hotels follows D200 a few km west - these are more convenient for the bus station.

Stay safe

Ankara is generally safe, even for single females at night, since as the capital it's well-policed. (The cops are looking for traffic offences, dissident trouble-makers and squaddies in town without a liberty pass.) Take usual care of valuables. The main hazard is traffic - vehicles are driven at silly speeds with scant regard to traffic lights and pedestrians. The side walks are often in poor condition: anyone with restricted mobility will be forced onto the roadway, and on ill-lit streets at night you risk falling into uncovered drains.

For emergencies call the emergency number 112 or approach any officer or go to the nearest station. Ankara nominally has a tourist police section with multilingual staff, based at AŞTİ bus station. The covid slump in tourism saw them redeployed to other duties, but perhaps staffing will resume as tourism and related incidents increase.

Connect

Ankara has 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of Jan 2024, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

Northwest, Highway D140 follows an ancient trade and pilgrimage route from Baghdad to Ankara and Constantinople. Towns along it westbound are Ayaş, Beypazarı, Çayırhan and Nallıhan. Kızılcahamam 80 km north has thermal springs amid forests — bears and wolves lurk in Soğuksu National Park. Boğazkale northeast is the hub for visiting ancient Hattuşa, the capital of Hittites. Çağırkan Japanese Gardens are 10 km past Kaman on the road southeast to Kırşehir. South you pass Tuz Gölü ("Salt Lake") on the road to Aksaray. Aksaray is a laid-back city and great base for the attractions near Güzelyurt. Haymana 80 km southwest is a down-at-heel spa town with hot springs. Gavurkale and Kulhoyuk nearby have rock friezes and Hittite burial grounds. Gordion (Yassıhöyük) is 96 km west, near Polatlı off the highway to Eskişehir. One of the most important ancient cities in Turkey, it had been home for Hittites, Phyrigians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans since 3000 BC. The remnants of the city are displayed in Gordion Museum and Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ulus.