Central Anatolia
This central region
is now the heart of modern Turkey's political life,
and has been the centre of many significant societies
and civilisations throughout history. The main cities
in this region are Ankara, Cankiri, Eskisehir, Kayseri,
Kirsehir,Konya, Nevsehir, Nigde, Sivas, Yozgat,
Aksaray, Karaman and Kirikkale.
Ankara, the
modern-day capital, is located squarely in the middle
of Central Anatolia and has been planned and developed
for a contemporary society. The most visually
impressive structure here is the Anitkabir mausoleum
built for Ataturk, who foundedthe modern Republic of
Turkey by winning the War for Independence and then
made Ankara its capital. The Museum of Anatolian
Civilisations is among the best museums in the
country, and has exhibits from Anatolian dating from
50,000 BC to the 2nd centuryAD.In the surrounding
areas, there are important settlements from early
Anatolian civilisations. 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 theBlack Sea to the Mediterranean and
from the Aegean Sea stretching east.The capital of the
Hittite Empire Hattushash, with massive walls and full
of temples, (now Bogazkale) and the second largest
city Shapinuva are both located northeast of Ankara in
the province of Corum. Reliefs of all of the Hittite
gods and goddessescan be seen in the open air temple
in nearby Yazilikaya, which was an important pantheon
of the Hittites. Alacahoyuk is another important
settlement, and is known for the sphinxes which can be
seen at the city gates.Around the time of 1200 BC, the
Phrygians came to the Anatolian Plateau from Europe
and established their capital, Gordion, near Polatli
west of Ankara. Alexander the Great was supposed to
have become the ruler of Asia by virtue of 'undoing'
Gordion'sknot with his sword. The tomb of the Phrygian
king Midas, who according to legend turned everything
he touched into gold, is located near Gordion. Near
Eskisehir and Afyon there are a number of Phrygian
cities and places of worship.South of the vast fertile
Konya plane on the northern slopes of the Toros
Mountains, Catalhoyuk is one of the world’s oldest
cities. Dating back to the Neolithic Era, it was an
important cultural centre with many temples decorated
with frescoes bycity artisans. Konya and the
surrounding regions would later be ruled during the
Chalcolithic, Bronze, Hittite, Phrygian, Persian,
Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras. It became the
capital city of the Seljuk Empire in the 12th century
andconsequently experienced the most important
Renaissance period of its long history. In the 13th
century, Konya was completely transformed with Selcuk
architecture.The great Turkish philosopher Mevlana,
who believed in human love and said that mystical
unity with God could be reached by the Sema, a
whirling dance to music performed by the dervishes,
lived in Konya and established a following here.Every
year in December, Konya holds a Mevlana Week which
includes performances of the Sema. Mevlana is buried
with his father Bahaeddin Veled in the Green Tomb (Yesil
Turbe), which has become the symbol of the city. The
Dervish Lodge and MevlanaMuseum adjacent to the tomb
are open to the public.
Southwest of Konya is
Beysehir Lake, a relatively undiscovered paradise full
of natural beauty, and nearby Kubad Abad has the
summer home of the Seljuk rulers, and a castle on
Kizkalesi Island. The Esrefoglu Mosque and Tomb, in
Beysehir, are importantexamples of the wooden
architecture of the Selcuk.Northwest towards Aksehir
is the home of Nasreddin Hoca, the famous 13th century
folk philosopher whose brilliant wit, quick retorts
and stories with subtle meanings is renowned far
beyond the borders of Turkey. This much-loved icon
died in 1284 andhis tomb in Aksehir is the symbol of
the city.
In the Eskisehir
region, the great poet Yunus Emre is buried in the
village named after him. He was considered to be an
eminent pioneer of Turkish poetry, who used language,
idioms and concepts of the ordinary man in an
unpretentious fashion to conveydivine justice, love
and friendship. Many people pay respects to his work
by visiting his grave. |