About Central Anatolian Holiday Guide

This 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 cities located in this region are Ankara, Çankara, Eskisehir, Kayseri, Kirsehir, Konya, Nevsehir, Nigde, Sivas, Yozgat, Aksaray, Karaman and Kirikkale.

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. Near Eskisehir and Afyon there are a number of Phrygian cities and worship centers. Now let's head down to vast fertile Konya Plain on the northern slopes of the Taurus Mountains. Catalhöyük, one of the worlds oldest cities is located here. This city, located southeast of Konya, belongs to the Neolithic Era and was an important cultural center with many temples decorated with frescoes by city 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 Selçuk in the 12th century AD and consequently experienced the most important "Renaissance" period of its long history. In the 13th century, Konya was completely redecorated with Selçuk architecture. The great Turkish philosopher Mevlana, who built his philosophy on human love and believed that mystical unity with God could be reached by means of the 'Sema', a whirling dance to music performed by the dervishes, lived in Konya and developed a following here.

Every year in the month of December, there is a 'Mevlana Week' in Konya, which includes performances of the 'Sema'. Mevlana is buried with his father Bahaeddin Veled in the Green Tomb (Yesil Turbe), which has become the city symbol. The Dervish Lodge and Mevlana Museum adjacent to the tomb are open to the public.  To the southwest of Konya is Beysehir Lake, a still undiscovered paradise full of natural beauty. To the southwest of the lake, Kubad Abad, the summer home of the Selçuk rulers, and the castle found on Kizkalesi Island are both sites worth visiting. The Esrefoglu Mosque and Tomb, located in Beysehir, have an important place among the timber architectural structures of the Selçuk period. As you leave Konya and head towards Aksehir you will probably notice that there is a smile playing at the corners of your mouth. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that you are approaching the home of Nasreddin Hoca, the famous folk philosopher and master comedian (13th c.), whose brilliant wit, quick retorts and stories with ever so subtle moral points have attracted audiences far beyond the borders of Turkey. This much-loved folk figure died in 1284 and his tomb in Aksehir is the city's most symbolic structure.  As you travel through the region of Eskisehir, your lips will undoubtedly be reciting lines from the poetry of Yunus Emre. This eminent pioneer of Turkish poetry used the language, idioms and concepts of the ordinary man in such an unpretentious fashion to convey such meaningful ideas regarding divine justice, love and friendship that to not visiting his grave, located in the village bearing his name (Yunus Emre Köyü), would be a huge loss.