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central region of the country hosts a number of interesting
sites. Currently the center of modern Turkey's political
life, it has been the center of a number of important
culture and civilizations in the past. The capital city of
Ankara is located squarely in the middle of Central Anatolia.
The most visually impressive structure in the city is the
Anitkabir mausoleum built for Ataturk. Ataturk founded the
modern Republic of Turkey by winning the War for
Independence and then made Ankara its capital. Ankara
is a city planned and developed for the modern world. The
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations located in Ankara is among
the best museums in the country. In the museum are exhibits
from Anatolian civilizations starting from 50,000 BC and
moving forward according to eras until the 2nd century AD.
In the area surrounding Ankara can be found important
settlements of early Anatolian civilizations. The Hittites
migrated to the Anatolian plateau from the Caucus Mountains
and set up the first kingdom in history to encompass the
whole of Anatolia from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean
and from the Aegean Sea stretching east. The capital of the
Hittite Empire Hattushash (now Bogazkale) and the second
largest city Shapinuva are both located northeast of Ankara
in the province of Çorum. Hattushash with its massive walls
was a city of temples. Reliefs of all of the gods and
goddesses of the Hittites can be seen in the open air temple
in Yazilikaya near the Hattushash. Yazilikaya was an
important pantheon of the Hittites. Alacahoyuk is another
important Hittite settlement found near Hattushash. Alacahöyük
is known for the sphinxes which can be seen at the city
gates. Sometime
in the 1200 BC, the Phrygians came to the Anatolian Plateau
from Europe. The Phrygian capital, Gordion, was established
near Polatli west of Ankara. Alexander the Great is supposed
to have become the ruler of Asia by virtue of 'undoing'
Gordion's knot with his sword. The tomb of the Phrygian king
Midas, who according to legend turned everything he touched
into gold, is located near Gordion. |
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