Worse yet, how many Turks have never made the trip to visit the heart of their country? Scorned by 0stanbulites as a place to get away from, with the high point of any visit the trip back home, given only a cursory glance by guidebooks and Web sites, and viewed by tour operators merely as a brief stop on the way to Cappadocia, Ankara has hidden treasures to share with all who dare to make the trek to Turkey’s bureaucratic center.

Although the capital of a country of 73 million, Ankara is a pleasant, leisurely paced metropolis of some 5 million souls, replete with abundant greenery along its streets and in its many parks. You’ll find block after block of the mundane apartment building that monopolizes every Turkish city, but you’ll also encounter ultra-modern towers, the residents of which are certainly deserving of envy for their luxurious abodes and spectacular vistas. There are, of course, the architecturally maligned government bureaus spread throughout the city, but there are also flashy new shopping centers, innovative restaurants, in-crowd bars, chic art galleries, venerable department stores and trendy boutiques. Turkey’s capital only since the establishment of the republic in 1923, Ankara isn’t lacking in historic attributes, either, boasting sites as diverse as Roman baths and the country’s first parliament building.

The bustling capital is full of contrasts: a modern, vibrant city also containing an old town that transports visitors to another era; the most modern of transportation moving the city from place to place side-by-side with horse-drawn buggies carrying fruits and vegetables for sale in the old part of town; space-age shopping centers drawing hordes on the weekends competing with traditional bazaars where vendors ply their wares the old-fashioned way, by bargaining; contemporary skyscrapers sitting in the midst of shanty houses; Western-dressed women walking arm-in-arm with ladies in headscarves -- it’s all here, under the brilliant Anatolian sky.

Not what I’d call a beautiful city, Ankara is full of its own particular brand of beauty, if you just know where to look. A landlocked capital, it lacks the majestic waterways found elsewhere in the country yet has a lake at Gölba_1 that has become a favorite for fish lovers, picnickers and recreation seekers. Sitting high on a high plateau in Central Anatolia, it enjoys an extremely dry, humidity-free climate that should be the envy of wet-city dwellers, with four distinct seasons affording residents a sometimes-snowy but more often crisp winter, a flower-filled spring, a brilliant, blue-skied summer and a fall that dresses the city in sparkling golds and reds.

Ankara welcomes tourists yet, unlike other cities in Turkey, doesn’t overwhelm or antagonize them. Carpets, handcrafts, jewelry are all easily available here, but minus the aggressive tactics normally found in other tourist centers. When a Turk tries to talk to you here, it’s usually because they want to have a conversation, not trick you into a glass of tea as a prelude for a big sales pitch on an overpriced carpet. Taxi drivers don’t as a rule speak English, but a few intelligible words are sufficient to gain you a knowledgeable chauffer, and one who isn’t out to make his fortune by taking the unwitting visitor on a protracted and unnecessary tour of the metropolis. Ankarans are generally warm and welcoming of visitors, eager to help a lost tourist and happy to share their city and culture.

Word has it that Ankara is a “dead” city, devoid of any nightlife, but in fact it is home to a host of bars and nightclubs that give lie to the stories of a place that rolls up its sidewalks after the bureaucrats go home. It also plays host to several symphony orchestras and the state opera and theater troupes, providing residents with a steady diet of the higher reaches of artistic endeavor. Not content to entertain music lovers with only its local artistes, the city is also a frequent destination for visiting performers, whether classical or rock, folk or modern, high brow or pedestrian.

As the nation’s first city, Ankara is home to the country’s foreign missions, providing it with a colorful kaleidoscope of languages and dress, customs and galas, flags and architecture, pomp and circumstance. On almost any given day, a glimpse can be caught of some dignitary, whether visiting or homegrown, albeit causing some slowdowns in the city’s otherwise orderly (for a Turkish city, that is) traffic patterns. Speaking of which, Ankara is devoid for the most part of the nightmarish traffic that dominates the streets of other Turkish metropolises, blessedly lacking the two-hour commute and the hours it can take to cover absurdly short distances. A modern metro runs under a large part of the city, while myriad dolmu_, busses and taxis rule the city’s surface streets.

Although in the past ridiculed for its woefully inadequate airport serving a modern-day capital city, Ankara now boasts a modern terminal that is said to rival any in Europe. While lacking the cruise ships that frequent some Turkish tourist destinations, its central location provides an easy jumping-off point to all parts of the county, be it the far reaches of eastern Anatolia, the exotic aura of the Southeast, the luscious greens of the Black Sea, the moonscapes of Cappadocia, the sun and sand of the Mediterranean or the cold, brilliant waters and historical wealth of the Aegean.

While some of the flashier universities reside elsewhere in Turkey, Ankara has no shortage of prestigious institutions of higher learning, including the Ankara, Gazi, Middle East Technical, Hacettepe, Ba_kent and Bilkent universities, all well regarded centers of academia in their own right. And not to be outdone by the cultural collections found elsewhere in the country, Ankara houses countless museums and cultural landmarks, among them the esteemed Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, which provides testament to the many peoples over the millennia who have called this land their home. The city also boasts actual forests, stands of trees that breathe fresh air into the urban atmosphere and that haven’t been cut down to make way for residential development, legal or otherwise, along with its very own farm started by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.

And lest you are taken in by the claims of non-Ankarans that there “is nothing to see in Ankara,” here are only a few of the many sights worth visiting:

An1tkabir - The spectacular mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey, sits on a hill overlooking the city and is a premiere attraction for Turks and foreigners alike. A monumental piece of 1945-era architecture that includes the final resting place of both Ataturk and second President of Turkey 0smet 0nönü, An1tkabir also features a museum displaying the personal belongings of the great leader, a ceremonial ground, a series of towers depicting important symbols of Turkey in relief, a Lion’s Road protected by 24 Hittite-style statues and a Peace Park nurturing plants from all over the world.

Kale area - Graced by a citadel believed to date back to Galatian times but enhanced and enlarged by various successive civilizations, this oldest part of Ankara transports the visitor into another time and place. A maze of narrow streets lined with old houses and even older mosques jarred into the present by the occasional restaurant take the visitor on a fascinating trip into traditional Ankara. The streets leading up the hill to this area are packed with carpet, antique and handcraft shops, offering some of the best and most entertaining shopping in the city.

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations - Located just below the citadel area, this museum is jointly housed in an old Ottoman bedesten (bazaar) and a han, or caravansary, dating to the 15th century. This unique institution offers an outstanding collection of Anatolian archeology starting with the Paleolithic era and extending through the Neolithic, Phrygian, Urartu and Hittite eras as well as presenting artifacts from the Hellenistic, Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods.

Atakule - A 125-meter communications and observation tower sitting high on a hill with a spectacular view of the entire city, Atakule also features a revolving restaurant on top and a shopping mall below.

Turkish Grand National Assembly Museum - Located in the country’s first Parliament building in Ulus and completed in 1920, the museum presents exhibits that include the chancery of state, committee rooms, a conference hall, a presidential room, all decorated with photographs and furniture of the period.

Kocatepe Mosque - This striking house of worship was built in the late 20th century along Ottoman lines, with four minarets. Its prominent location makes it a landmark visible from almost anywhere in the city, while its monumental exterior and interior make it a worthwhile visit.

Ethnographic Museum - This interesting museum contains examples of ethnography and Turkish art from Anatolia including clothing, embroidery, and old Ankara house, tapestries, crafts, written works, wood carvings and Seljuk and Ottoman-era artifacts.

Çengelhan Rahmi M. Koç Museum - Located in an old-quarter caravanserai dating to 1522, this new museum features displays on engineering, transportation, scientific instruments and other industrial endeavors. .

Temple of Augustus - Built by the Galatians and reconstructed by the Romans in the second century, the temple houses the sole surviving political testament of Emperor Augustus detailing his achievements in Latin and Greek. It was converted into a church by the Byzantines.

Roman Bath - With all the features of a classical Roman bath, the structure was built during the reign of Emperor Caracalla in the third century. Today only the basement and first floors remain.

Hac1 Bayram Mosque - This mosque was built in the early 15th century in Selçuk style and was subsequently restored by Sinan, the great Ottoman architect, in the 16th century.

Estergon Turkish Culture Center Located in Ankara’s Keçiören district, this magnificent structure, completed in 2004, was named after a castle in Hungary. The Islamic-style citadel features a dazzling array of Ottoman wall miniatures, wood carvings, stonework, stained-glass windows, furnishings and decorations along with a restaurant and shops. Although a bit far from the city center, this unique center is well worth a visit.

Today's Zaman