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Ankara — travel, stays & events guide
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Ankara city overview
Ankara is a city in Turkey shaped by its region, population, local economy, landmarks, climate and civic history. This overview summarizes the city itself: where it sits, what defines it, which places anchor its identity and why it matters within the wider country.
City facts
Known forAnkara, Capital city of Turkey, Ankara planning base 3, Ankara planning base 4
Population~5.8Mcity context
RegionTurkeyTurkey
Time zonetbalocal time
Founded272historical origin
City history
The town was reincorporated into the Roman Empire under Emperor Aurelian in 272.
However, the persecution proved unsuccessful and in 314 Ancyra was the center of an important council of the early church; its 25 disciplinary canons constitute one of the most important documents in the early.
When the province of Galatia was divided sometime in 396/99, Ancyra remained the civil capital of Galatia I, as well as its ecclesiastical center (metropolitan see).
In 654, the city, also known in Arabic sources as Qalat as-Salasil ("fortress of the chains"), was captured for the first time by the Arabs of the Rashidun Caliphate, under Muawiyah, the future founder.
741–775); Ancyra then became the capital of the new Bucellarian Theme.
802–811) strengthened its fortifications, a fact which probably saved it from sack during the large-scale invasion of Anatolia by Caliph Harun al-Rashid in the next year.
842–867) came to the city during a campaign against the Arabs, and ordered its fortifications restored.
The city grew significantly in size and importance under the Phrygians starting around 1000 BC, and experienced a large expansion following the mass migration from Gordion, (the capital of Phrygia), after an earthquake which.
Following its annexation by the Seljuk Turks in 1073, the city became known in many European languages as Angora; it was also known in Ottoman Turkish as Engürü (انگورو).
Ankara has experienced a phenomenal growth since it was made Turkey's capital in 1923, when it was "a small town of no importance".
Two other Galatian tribal centers, Tavium near Yozgat, and Pessinus (Balhisar) to the west, near Sivrihisar, continued to be reasonably important settlements in the Roman period, but it was Ancyra that grew into a.
In its heyday, Roman Ancyra was a large market and trading center but it also functioned as a major administrative capital, where a high official ruled from the city's Praetorium, a large administrative palace.
After Constantinople became the East Roman capital, emperors in the 4th and 5th centuries would retire from the humid summer weather on the Bosporus to the drier mountain atmosphere of Ancyra.
After Ankara became the capital of the newly founded Republic of Turkey, new development divided the city into an old section, called Ulus, and a new section, called Yenişehir.
Worth seeing
Ankara
Ankara is a practical Ankara planning anchor: compare its location, transfer time, nearby hotel bases and event timing before you lock the day plan.
Capital city of Turkey
Capital city of Turkey is a practical Ankara planning anchor: compare its location, transfer time, nearby hotel bases and event timing before you lock the day plan.
Ankara planning base 3
Ankara planning base 3 is a practical Ankara planning anchor: compare its location, transfer time, nearby hotel bases and event timing before you lock the day plan.
Ankara planning base 4
Ankara planning base 4 is a practical Ankara planning anchor: compare its location, transfer time, nearby hotel bases and event timing before you lock the day plan.
Ankara planning base 5
Ankara planning base 5 is a practical Ankara planning anchor: compare its location, transfer time, nearby hotel bases and event timing before you lock the day plan.
Ankara planning base 6
Ankara planning base 6 is a practical Ankara planning anchor: compare its location, transfer time, nearby hotel bases and event timing before you lock the day plan.
Stay overview
Compare Ankara before booking Ankara hotels. Start with the places you will repeat most, then check airport timing, parking, nightly price and event demand before choosing the final base.
Hotels & areas
Compare accommodation options in and around Ankara by area, not only by nightly price. A cheaper room can become expensive when airport transfers, parking, attraction routes, late arrivals or event-week demand add time and cost.
Compare stays in Ankara, TurkeyFlights & airports
Main airport TBC arrival plan
- Ankara airport accessMain gateway TBC.
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Rental cars
Ankara day-trip car use
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Compare rental carsTravel tips
Best time to visit
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Transport notes
Choose a base around the trips you will repeat most: airport, station, old town, waterfront, venue district or day-trip route.
Crowds
Prices can jump around festivals, conventions, school holidays, cruise days, ski weeks, race weekends and large sports events.
Booking detail
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Upcoming events
No upcoming Ankara events in the shared event index yet.