Ankara & the Anatolia Region - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 214

Atatürk's House
Atatürk's House, Çankaya Caddesi,
Çankaya, Ankara. b [phone]
08 50.

gates and its Royal tombs. In the
Bogazkale National Park are
further ancient sites of interest,
most noticeably at Ali@ar, !apin-
uva , which lies beside the
Çekerek River and was the sec-
ond most important city in
Hittite times, and the town of
Masathöyük . If exploring this
area, stop awhile at Çorum itself,
where you can see several impor-
tant buildings, including its
13th-century mosque. The city
has a modern quarter so if your
youngsters are in need of refresh-
ment after trawling around
historic sites then a stop at a cafe
or restaurant here could provide
the break they need.
Çankiri
At Çankiri, you can see evidence
of the ancient city of Gangrea
where people lived around the
third century BC. The Anatolian
region of Turkey is steeped in
ancient history. In fact, the first
civilisations in this area of the
world lived in the region. There
are burial grounds and artefacts
from the period in the small
local museum, along with more
recent buildings including an
11th-century fortress and a
16th-century mosque, the Ulu
Mosque, built by Sinan, the
great architect famous for his
work on other great Turkish
mosques. Nearby is the Ilgaz
National Park where you can
stop awhile after visiting the
ancient sites, and enjoy a snack
in one of the cafes or a packed
lunch at one of the picnic areas.

Located in the grounds of the
Presidential Palace in Çankaya,
which itself is not open to the
public, this house was the home
of Atatürk after he founded the
Republic. Large and elegant, and
still displaying the interior
design of his day, Atatürk's
House offers the rare chance to
look into what was once his
world. Inside, there are personal
belongings and photographs of
important historical events.
While young children may not
appreciate its significance, there
is a garden for them to play qui-
etly if they become a tad bored
by so much history.
Open Sunday only. Admission free.

Bogazkale
Located northeast of Ankara,
Bo g azkale in the province of
Çorum is one of the region's
most historic sites. As
Hattushash, Bo g azkale was the
capital of the Hittite Empire,
Anatolia's first ever kingdom. It
is said that civilisations lived in
this area as far back as 50,000
BC. You can still see massive
walls that at one time would
have been part of its citadel and
its temples. Nearby is Yazilikaya ,
an important city in Hittite
times, where you can see some of
the country's finest examples of
carvings and reliefs in an open-
air temple museum site, and the
ancient Alacahöyük , which is
famous for its sphinxes at its city

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