Ankara is
the capital of Turkey, after Istanbul it is the second largest city in this
country. It has a population of 4.5 million people. Ankara is an important
commercial and industrial city. And it houses the Turkish government and
different foreign embassies. The name Ankara comes from the word ‘Ancyra’ which
means ‘anchor’.
The city
was known for its long-haired Angora animals, such as the Angora goat, cat and
rabbit. These animals give Angora wool which is very priced and wanted all over
the world. Some other well-known products in Ankara are pears, honey and the
muscat grapes.
We have
visited the historical center of Ankara, upon a rocky hill located at an
altitude of 850 meters. It was surrounded by steppe vegetation and is one of
the driest places of Turkey. But still Ankara is considered to be a green city.
As it has 72 m² of green area per habitant.
Ankara is a
very old city, which you can see in the architecture of the buildings. When you
stand on the rocky hill you oversee the ruins of an old castle. The most
remarkable ancient monument is the Temple of Augustus and Rome, also known as
the Monumentum Ancyranum. The temple was built between 25 and 20 years BC, when
Ankara was capital of the Roman province Galatia reigned by the Roman emperor
Augustus. After conquering the city he decided to make it one of the three man
administrative centers in central Anatolia. During the reign of Augustus the
city was populated by Phrygians and Celts. Augustus had upgraded the city into
a major provincial capital for his empire. When Augustus died the inscription ‘Res Gestae Divi
Augusti’ was cut in marble on both walls of the temple, meaning ‘the deeds of the
Divine Augustus’. Today we can still see some valuable bas-reliefs and
inscriptions on the ruins of Ancyra.
Ankara was an interesting and historically rich country to visit.
Sources:
it's nice to know where the name 'Ankara' comes from. We visited there especially the historical buildings and monuments. It's a pretty tourist town.
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