Since my tentative plan is go to Ankara, I wanted to do a culture post talking about Ankara! Unlike popular belief, Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey, but rather Ankara. It's an easy mistake I made in the past- and why not? Istanbul is a central point because of its geographical location between the East and the West, is a splendid city, and the largest city in Turkey- it could certainly be the capital. Ankara holds a lot of history spanning from the Hittites, Greeks, and Romans to Byzantines and Ottomans.
Climate: Similar to the northeast U.S. in its hot summers, cold snowy winters, rainy in the spring and autumn.
Tourist attractions:
- Anitkabir: Location of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of Turkey's mausoleum.
- Temple of Augustus (Augustus Tapinagi): Built in 25 BC, has inscriptions of Augustus on the walls. Has other attractions nearby such as Julian's Column (Jülyanüs Sütunu).
- Kocatepe Mosque: Fully completed in 1987 despite having a lot of halts, can hold up to 100,000 worshippers. Many view it as prime Islamic architecture because of its neo-classic Ottoman style.
- Ankara Kalesi: a stategically placed citadel.
Population: 4.588 million
Geographical location: Central Anatolia, northwestern part of Turkey, south of Black Sea.
Ankara is second to Istanbul in almost everything- size, industrial manufactering, and tourism. The service and tourism industries are expected to grow. In terms of manufacturing, the production of wine, beer, floud, sugar, macaroni, biscuits, milk, cement, mosaic paving, construction materials, and tractors are entrenched in the city. Since it is the capital, government is the city's central.
Fun fact: Ankara was formerly called Angora! Ex: Angora wool, Angora cat, etc comes from Ankara.
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