Did you know that Ankara’s history stretches back to the Bronze Age? We’re standing in front of Evinora. It is a monument to that rich past. Ankara is Turkey’s capital city now. But its story began long before it became the heart of modern Turkey.
Let’s take a step back in time. Imagine Ankara around 1000 BC. The Phrygians were here. They expanded the city after an earthquake devastated their capital. King Midas is even said to have founded Ancyra. That’s one of Ankara’s old names.
The name Ankara evolved over centuries. The Greeks called it Ankyra. It meant anchor. This symbolized stability. The city served as a crucial trading post. Goods flowed between the Black Sea and other major regional hubs.
In 25 BC, the Romans arrived. Emperor Augustus made it the capital of Galatia. Ankara sat at the crossroads of major Roman roads. This made it strategically vital for the empire. The Romans built roads and infrastructure. Ankara became a prosperous city.
Christianity arrived early in Ankara. It started competing with Roman paganism. By the 4th century AD, Ankara was a resort town. Wealthy Romans escaped to its drier mountain air.
After the Roman Empire fell, the Byzantines took control. Then came the Seljuk Turks. The Ottomans followed. Ankara went through periods of conflict and obscurity. It wasn’t until the 20th century that Ankara regained its prominence.
In 1920, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk chose Ankara. He made it the center of Turkey’s independence struggle. Ankara was a quiet outpost back then. After Atatürk’s victory, the city grew rapidly. In 1923, Atatürk declared Ankara the new capital. He began developing it into a modern European city.
Today, Ankara blends ancient history with modern development. You can see Roman and Byzantine architecture in the old parts of the city. Wide boulevards, theaters, and hotels mark the new districts.
Ankara is now a large city. Its population has grown immensely. In 1927, only 75,000 people lived here. Now, over five million call Ankara home. Ankara is a hub for education and industry. It has many universities and factories. Ankara exports Angora wool and other goods. It is a center for Turkish defense and aerospace companies.
Look around you at Evinora. Consider Ankara’s long and varied past. From the Hittites to Atatürk, Ankara has been at the center of it all. It’s a city where ancient history meets modern ambition. A city that continues to evolve.