ANKARA
After completing our visit to Istanbul,
on 4 and 5th May, in order to avoid a tiring 8 hour road journey and to
save time we took a flight from Istanbul to Ankara.
Ankara is a typical
capital, clean straight wide roads, administrative buildings, monuments and
mosques.
We spent the
afternoon visiting the Kemal Ataturk Mausoleum, Museum of
Anatolian Civilizations and the Kocatepe Mosque.
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| ANKARA CASTLE WALLS |
The Kemal Ataturk Mausoleum
This is a massive structure
where Kemal Ataturk’s remains are placed. Construction of this structure was
started in 1945 and was completed in 1950. There is no statue or any other
emblem of Ataturk in the mausoleum as per Islamic culture. The approach to the monument is a 262 m long pedestrian
walkway that is lined on both sides by twelve pairs of lions carved in a style
like the Hittite archaeological finds. The lions represent Anatolia and are
shown seated to simultaneously represent both power and peace.
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| The Mausoleum |
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| The Lions Road |
Museum
of Anatolian Civilizations
The museum contains finest archaeological
collection in all of Turkey. Constructed under the reign of Mehmet the
Conqueror, the museum contains a remarkable record of every civilization that
passed through Anatolia as far back as the caveman. The exhibit begins with artifacts
believed to date to the Paleolithic Age and follows the progression of time.
The most impressive Neolithic Age findings are an 8,000-year-old wall, clay and
ceramic representations of bulls' heads, images of a fat and misshapen Mother
Goddess called Kybele (later Cybele, forerunner of Artemis and probably the
Virgin Mary), and wall paintings from Çatalhöyük, man's oldest known stationary
civilization.
Kocatepe Mosque.
Construction
started some time in 1965 and was completed in
1987. This project is built in a neo-classical Ottoman architecture style.
There are
four minarets of 88 meters height .The dome is of 25 meters dia. and
48 meters
height. It can accommodate 24,000 worshippers.
Miscellaneous
Ankara is famous for its long-haired Angora goat and its prized wool (mohair), a unique breed of cat (Angora cat), Angora rabbits and their prized wool (Angora wool).These fabrics have been
exported from Ankara to Europe and other parts of the globe for centuries.
Ankara is
one of the primary locations of grape and wine production in Turkey and is particularly famous for its wine. Ankara is also famous for its pears. Another renowned natural product of
Ankara is its indigenous type of honey (Ankara Balı) which is known
for its light colour.
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