Ankara is a modern fairly new city which grew from a population of 20,000 when the Republic of Turkey was created to several millions today, largely as a result of the decision by Ataturk and his colleagues to make the City their centre of operations and in due course the capital of the new Republic to get away from Istanbul and its association with the abolished Ottoman Empire. 

Despite its modernity Ankara does have a Castle built so long ago nobody is sure of the date!!  Some suggest the Hittites arrived here first in about 1600 BC, but there is no archeological evidence to support that theory and the Castle is most commonly associated with Romans, Byzantine and the Seljuk era.  The Castle takes up the entirely of the peak on which it stands and towers over the red roofs of Ankara’s historic houses.  The walls rise to 50 feet and includes 42 towers.  It has been many times damaged and repaired by successive invaders - it makes the Castle a very interesting hotch potch of different styles with Roman stonework having been re-used by subsequent owners in bizarre ways as some of the pics will show.  There are also some beautifully restored Ottoman houses, often now used as hotels and restaurants.

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