Very Old Ankara

A short posting tonight, as we have to get up extra early and pile on a bus to Cappadocia tomorrow - leaving our sweet little steppe town.

We hit the BIG sites today - The Anitbakir (Ataturk's Mausoleum, and then over to old Ankara to see some Roman ruins leaning against a very old but very important mosque. Then on to the citadel, and after a stiff climb up that in the sun, some lunch and a few hours at the Museum of Anatolian Antiquities. For all the old city bits we were accompanied by an archaeologist - a Brit who has lived here since the 70s and specializes in Anatolian archaeology.

The Anitbakir was remarkable - really enormous and beautiful - designed in the late 30s (Ataturk died in 1938) by the premier German monumental architects. We filed down the "walk of lions" and into the mausoleum court itself, finally pausing on the steps of the mausoleum to read Ataturk's message to children, then we removed our hats and filed past the tomb of the Great Leader. Even more interesting was the museum underneath the pavilion - but more on that below.

The old city was extraordinary. This archaeologist is particularly accomplished and he was able to point out lots of important things about the Temple of Divine Augustus in the city center.

The center of old Ankara has an entirely different feel. Out here near the hotels, shopping district, and embassies - this could be any pleasant European city. Cross the tracks and climb up into the Ulus and you feel as if you are getting back to a much older Turkey (and you are) - a much more intensive Moslem feel (particularly around this mosque - which is neither the largest, nor the prettiest, but definitely the MOST holy one in the city). Up in the citadel you get into a warren of tiny climbing streets that wind up into this immense stone fortification (a citadel) that offer out-to-the horizon views of all of Ankara. Our archaeologist guide was able to point out how much the city has grown since the 70s - and it is really remarkable.

We had a wonderful lunch, sitting on the kilim pillows around a breezy room in a courtyard eatery in the Citadel. I get the impression that most of the really local restaurants are family operations here - its always fathers hosting, mothers cooking, daughters serving and sons bussing tables and running plates back and forth to the kitchen. It always has a very pleasant homey feel.

In my mind the main event came after lunch - which is actually a little unfortunate because that put it at mid afternoon when everyone was feeling pretty beat up. Our archaeologist guide took us on a tour through the museum of Anatolian Antiquities.

The most important and wonderful thing here was all the best items from Catal Huyuk. This is one of the earliest known human cities. As our guide put it - it ALL began there - at least as far as the West is concerned, domestication of animals, agriculture, etc. - it all happened here first. The really great thing about going through this with him was that he was able to explain that most of the signs on the exhibits and lots of the stuff in textbooks is nonsense (e.g. there actually was no Neolithic revolution or at least it was not relevant to the formation of cities; the wall painting that is interpreted as a picture of the city in front of the blowing volcano - that's probably just beehives next to a leopard skin; the Venus Goddesses figures did NOT figure deities - they were found in trash heaps and never in important places, things like this). Actually, on a nice pedagogical point he said - skip the archaeology theories just look at the thing themselves and see what sense you can make of them.

The early items from Catal Huyuk were remarkable - but there were also marvelous things through the Hittite ages as well. The museum is located in a remodeled market place - really a series of stone domes remodeled by Ataturk back in the day. It's surrounded by lovely statue gardens.

We had some time to do a bit of shopping in the Citadel before getting back on the bus and coming back to Hotel Dedeman. Sauna, swim, quick dinner nearby and some tea & desert over backgammon at a cafe in Kisaly.

One last thing - I probably did not mention that Turkey won ANOTHER big tournament soccer match - this one against Croats. The Croats knocked in the first (and leading) goal with about two minutes left in the game. So, it looked hopeless but then a Turk player - at the very last possible moment (probably the last possible kick) tied it up. They won on overtime goal-kicks after two overtimes. Needless to say, Ankara explodes - and I fall asleep among the firecrackers, sirens, and horns. There was, fortunately, no gunfire - perhaps we'll find some of that out in the provices. We are off to Cappadocia early tomorrow.

Most Remarable Thing:

That Ataturk/Revolution exhibit in the fortress like underpinning of the Mausoleum really was the main nerve of this Turkey-Loves-Ataturk thing. It was all about the War of Revolution, but they also preserved and displayed A's pajamas, shaving kit, even his favorite dog, Fox, was there in a glass case. Just recently they have added a sort of diorama of great battle scenes replete with sound effects and choral singing. It was astonishing - and the little alcoves of the hallways describing (picturing) Greek atrocities.


Correction:

Last night I suggested that Kant says that concepts without percepts are blind. It must have been late - I was tired. Of course, everyone knows that Kant says that concepts without percepts are empty - it's percepts without concepts that are "blind". I'll try to live up to higher standards about this sort of thing in my blog in the future. My apologies.

Note: Who knows what the WiFi situation will be like in the hotels in Urgup tomorrow and in Konja the next night. I will surely be having world-historic experiences, but I am not sure I will be able to share them here.

Pictures:

Here's a glimpse of the Old City/Citadel in Ankara - the old style architecture. I gather these buildings need to be completely rebuilt when those timbers on the overhangs start to fail, and there are some sort of rules about rebuilding them. So it gives the place and extra-crubly/perishing feel that goes nicely with the chunks of Greek and Roman stones.