
Modern Ankara: Embassies, Galleries and Upscale Neighborhoods
The leafy embassy districts of Cankaya and Gaziosmanpasa reveal a sophisticated, cosmopolitan side of the Turkish capital. Explore contemporary art galleries, boutique shops, international restaurants and elegant early-republic architecture.
- 1
Cankaya District
The affluent hilltop neighborhood housing the Presidential Palace and many embassies, lined with early Republic-era mansions and broad, tree-shaded avenues.
- 2
Ankara State Art and Sculpture Museum
One of Turkeys oldest art museums, dedicated to modern Turkish painting and sculpture from the early republic period onward. A quiet and undervisited gem.
- 3
Atakule Tower
The 125-meter landmark tower with a rotating restaurant and observation deck offering the best 360-degree views over the capital. A clear day reveals the surrounding Anatolian plateau.
- 4
Tunali Hilmi Street
Ankaras most fashionable street, lined with designer shops, galleries, restaurants and patisseries. The evening promenade here rivals any boulevard in Istanbul.
- 5
Rahmi Koc Museum Ankara
The industrial heritage museum branch in Ankara, displaying vintage aircraft, steam engines, scientific instruments and maritime exhibits in a large, well-curated space.
- 6
Gaziosmanpasa
A gracious residential district of wide avenues and 1930s to 1950s modernist villas. Walking here is like touring a living textbook of early Turkish republican architecture.
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