Ankara, Turkey’s capital city, is important to diplomats, bureaucrats, lobbyists and military, and has a few significant sights for visitors.

Before the Turkish War of Independence brought Kemal Atatürk and his generals to Ankara as a wartime command post, this Central Anatolian town 454 km (282 miles) southeast of Istanbul was a small town with a Roman citadel on a high hill and a brisk trade in soft Angora goat hair and the garments made from it.

After Atatürk proclaimed Ankara to be the capital of the new Turkish Republic, it began to grow. After WWII, a constant influx of villagers from the countryside in search of a better life brought Ankara explosive growth.

Today this city at an altitude of 848 meters (2782 feet) is a sprawling metropolis of five million people, many of them employed in government ministries and embassies, in universities and schools, in hospitals and medical centres, the military, and some in light industry on the outskirts.

Ankara’s several interesting sights include the citadel, Museum of Anatolian Civilisations and Atatürk’s Mausoleum.

A very lively shopping district and the best of European fashion at reasonable prices can be found in the very busy shopping precinct close to our tour hotel. This together with a lively café/ restaurant precinct are also hallmarks of Ankara.