Backpacking in Ankara | Turkey

November 13 2020

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Ankara, capital of Turkey; yes, Istanbul is not the capital. The 2nd biggest city in Turkey after Istanbul. Bit of a concrete jungle actually and doesn't really have that much going for it but still worth a look round.
So why come to Ankara, for a 2nd time in my case if it doesn't have that much going for it? Well, the YHT from Istanbul finishes here. Last time, back in 2013 I had taken the bus from Istanbul and then took the sleeper train east to Erzurum.
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Deeps Hostel is a comfy place to hang out for a few days breaking up the journey.

​I went to ​Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and 1st President of the Republic of Turkey. 
I headed out the Ankara Castle via the Atatürk Statue:
The ​Altındağ Camii:
And the ​Haci Bayram Mosque:
Next to the ancient ruins of the Temple of Augustus:
And finally to the Ankara Castle for the rather awesome city panorama:
On the way back I stopped off at the Gençlik Parkı but the lake has been drained. But read a few chapters of Down And Out In Paris And London. Decent enough place to sit for an hour or two.
Getting there and away:

From Istanbul you can take the YHT high-speed train. Arrival point in Ankara:
From the A.Ş.T.I bus terminal you can travel to any destination in Turkey:
Getting from Ankara to Cappadocia during the Coronavirus pandemic involved taking a bus to Nevşehir and then a Dolmus to Göreme which is the most popular town in the region known as Cappadocia. I took the first but at 09:00. Fare was 70TL.
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Getting around:

Ankara has an efficient Metro system. I used it twice, both times to go to the AŞTI bus terminal from Kızılay which was near my guesthouse. You can get a one-trip ticket which costs just 4TL. If you spend a lot of time in Ankara you can get a top-up card as well but the main places of interest are all within walking distance.

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