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A brief guide on basic information about Ankara. It isn’t the most exciting city in Turkey, but the capital has plenty to offer in the form of museums and important monuments. It also has an international flare thanks to all the embassies, making it easy to find good hotels and restaurants.
Brief History of Ankara
Ankara was ruled by the Hittites in the 2nd millennium BC, They were followed by the Phrygians, Lydians, Persians, Greeks, Galatians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans, and finally the Turkish Republic. Its modern name is slightly modified from Ankyra (Ἄγκυρα), meaning anchor, given to the city by the Greeks around 300 BC. The city was officially known as Angora in English until the 1930s.
In 1920, Ankara became the headquarters of the Turkish resistance movement, led my Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938). It replaced Constantinople (Istanbul) as the Turkish capital on October 13, 1923. At that time, it was a small town of around 35,000 people.
Getting to Ankara
As the capital, Ankara is well-connected to the rest of Turkey. It’s possible to get there by plane, train, and bus. I’ve used the train and bus only and have yet to use the airport.
Esenboğa Airport
Ankara Esenboğa Airport (Ankara Esenboğa Havalimanı) is located 28 kilometers (17 miles) northeast of the city center. It receives domestic flights from all over Turkey and international flights from a few major cities in Europe and the Middle East, including several cities in Germany.
Ankara Train Station
Ankara Train Station (Ankara Tren Garı) connects the city with Istanbul, Eskişehir, Konya, and Sivas via high speed rail. More destinations will be added as lines are built (as of November 2023).
Construction on the station started on December 9, 2013, and it opened on October 29, 2016. It serves over 50,000 passengers daily, and includes a hotel, shopping mall, and conference center.
Bus Terminal
The bus terminal, AŞTİ, is southwest of the city center. It’s a huge chaotic place where you can find buses to just about every corner of Turkey.
Getting Around Ankara
Getting around Ankara seemed to be confusing at times. There’s a metro and bus system, but I ended up using taxis for the most part because they were more convenient for where I needed to go. To ride the metro and buses, you can buy an AnkaraKart at an automated kiosk at any metro station and fill it up with credit. Single rides cost 15₺ (as of November 2023), and the card will help you save on transfers.
The Ankara Metro has been operating since December 29, 1997. It has five metro lines with one partially under construction (as of November 2023) as well as a light rail line. It’s connected to the bus terminal, and when all the lines are complete, visitors will be able to ride the metro to the train station and airport.
The most important metro station for tourists will most likely be Ulus, which is near many attractions. I only used the metro twice, to get between Ulus and Kızılay.
Where to Stay in Ankara
Ankara has a wide variety of hotels for all budgets and tastes, thanks to its status as the capital of Turkey. I’ve stayed in three hotels on my two trips to the city.
Forgotten Hotel
I have no recollection whatsoever of the hotel from my very first trip to Ankara, so obviously I can’t include it here. After getting in very late at the bus station coming from Bursa, I asked a taxi driver to take me to a cheap hotel for the night. I was only staying for a few hours and leaving in the afternoon to head back to Istanbul, so I only needed a place to sleep.
Angora House Hotel
The best place I’ve stayed is at the Angora House Hotel. This boutique hotel is housed in a restored Ottoman mansion inside Ankara Castle. We spent two nights there.
The hotel has comfortable rooms with modern amenities. Our room was very quiet at night and extremely clean. Rooms are decorated in a rustic Anatolian style.
We were excited to wake up in the morning for the Turkish breakfast, which was included in the room rate. It was one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve had in Turkey, with cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, assorted olives, yogurt, cold cuts, eggs, fries, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Staff was wonderful and made us feel at home. They had great suggestions on things to see and places to eat nearby. Speaking of food, the only negative about the hotel is that there weren’t many restaurant options at night, although there were plenty a short cab ride away. I’m not sure if it’s because we visited in the low season. Overall, we enjoyed our stay very much and we’d be more than happy to stay there again.
Buğday Hotel
We stayed two nights at the Buğday Hotel, which is a short walk from Ulus metro station and several attractions in Ulus. It’s a budget business class hotel.
Our room was simple yet comfortable, and included a desk, safe, and fast Wi-Fi. We had a nice view of Gençlik Park and the Ankara Train Station. Although it’s located on a busy street, it was quiet at night.
A decent buffet breakfast was included on the terrace. There were lots of choices of Turkish and international specialties. We also enjoyed the views from the terrace, where we could spot several landmarks.
Staff was professional and helpful, and did a good job making us feel welcome. Unfortunately, on the night we arrived, it was after 8pm and the hotel restaurant was already closed. We asked about a restaurant nearby but staff said there was nothing. We ended up having to use the vending machines. Other than that, the location is excellent and the price is reasonable. It’s a good option for a trip to Ankara.
Where to Eat in Ankara
Ankara has a wide variety of restaurants available for all budgets. Thanks to its status as the capital of Turkey, there are plenty of good international options as well as traditional Turkish cuisine.
Kınacızade Konağı
The best meal we had was at Kınacızade Konağı, which was right next to our hotel in Ankara Castle. The restaurant is hosted in a beautiful 19th century Ottoman mansion restored in 2007. Meals are served in the pleasant garden behind it.
On our first visit to the restaurant, I had the mantı while Marisol had the lamb chops. Service was a little slow but the food was delicious. We tried to go back a second time for lunch on our last day in Ankara, but after waiting 20 minutes for service while the owner was arguing with a staff member, we gave up and went elsewhere.
The mansion itself is also a museum. It contains a central hallway connected to four rooms. One room is a library and the remaining three are dedicated to important people – historian Halil İnalcık (1916-2016); Yurdusev Arığ, the founder of the Women’s Politicians Platform (Kadın Siyasetçiler Platformu); and journalist Jülide Gülizar (1929-2011).
Ceritoğlu Konağı
Just down the block is Ceritoğlu Konağı, which serves delicious gözleme, mantı, and Turkish breakfast. Food is served outside in the garden, or inside where you can see the gözleme being made.
Hatipoğlu Konağı
Also at Ankara Castle is Hatipoğlu Konağı, which is situated in an early 20th century mansion. It hosted the Hungarian Embassy from 1920 to 1947 and a police station from 1947 to 1957. After that, it served as a private residence and was restored in 1998.
We visited the restaurant for dinner and surprisingly found it empty. We sat on the terrace, which has incredible panoramic views of Ankara, and were treated to live traditional Turkish music. Service was excellent and very friendly.
We started off with a cold appetizer plate, which included an assortment of different meze. For a main course, I had the lamb chops and Marisol had the grilled chicken. All of the food was excellent. I would love to go back for breakfast one morning.
Sadık Ustanın Meşhur Kebabı
Near the castle entrance, we found Sadık Ustanın Meşhur Kebabı. We walked in and were seated in the empty upstairs dining room. They specialize in oltu kebabs, which are from Erzurum.
Oltu kebabs are horizontally stacked pieces of lamb rotating on a spit. They’re order by the skewer and served with onion, flatbread, and a salad. They were so delicious I had five! For dessert, we had Turkish tea and a version of ekmek kadayıfı.
Nazım Usta Hacıbayram Kebapçısı
In Hacıbayram, we stopped at Nazım Usta Hacıbayram Kebapçısı for lunch. They have a few varieties of döner and kebabs on the menu.
I had a cacık (tzatziki) along with pilav üstü döner, which is rice topped with döner meat. Marisol had chicken şiş. Both of our meals were tasty and filling, and service was efficient and friendly.
Bahçem Cafe
While walking through Hamamönü, we had lunch at Bahçem Cafe. They have a huge menu featuring both Turkish and international specialties. We should have picked a different place.
We were craving some sort of hearty stew, so we both chose güveç. I had lamb while Marisol had chicken. They were terrible, and both of us ended up with food poisoning. To top it off, staff didn’t enforce the no smoking rule so we had cigarette smoke in our face during the entire meal. Avoid it.
Big Baker
We went to Kızılay for dinner and found Big Baker. It’s a local chain that specializes in burgers, pizza, and pasta. I had a big juicy burger and Marisol ordered the chicken tenders. We couldn’t finish everything and ended up having to take leftovers back to the hotel. Overall, service could have been better, but the food was very good.
