Ankara, Turkey
Gordion Hotel, Kavaklidere Visiting Ankara on a cold January morning meant suitcases filled with woollies to combat temperatures of -10 degrees celsius. The capital city of Turkey sits in the middle of the central Anatolian plateau. I was excited to learn that this humming city can trace its history back to the bronze age and has been a part of historic events through several great civilisations. The region's history goes back to the Bronze Age, Hatti Civilization, which was succeeded in the 2nd millennium BC by the Hittites, and then the Phrygians (10th century BC); Lydians and Persians followed. After these came the Galatians, a Celtic race who were the first to make Ankara their capital (3rd century BC). It was then known as Ancyra, meaning anchor. The town subsequently fell to the Romans, Byzantines, and Selcuks under Alpaslan in 1073, and then to the Ottomans under Yildirim Beyazit in 1402, who remained in control until the First World War. Wow, that's a load of history in