The city of Ankara was originally a tiny settlement of goatherds. It came into the limelight as Kemal Ataturk's dream-come-true of a swanky seat of government in Turkey. Today it looks like a Western success story, carefully planned and meticulously built. Ankara replaced Istanbul as the capital of the country in 1923.

There isn't much history here if you're looking for it, just a couple of sights and museums that will be done in a span of two days at the most. Unless you're here on business, move on - there's a lot waiting in the other cities of Turkey. The best part is that Ankara is extremely well-connected to them all.

For detailed country information see Turkey.