Ankara - Gün 3

The green bus dropped us off on campus around 8am. We changed clothes, got breakfast at Cafe Sun Shine, and headed for Anıt Kabir (Atatürk's Mausoleum). I had visited it back in the beginning of September, but this time my dad and I took the subway to get there.


The building holding Atatürk's symbolic body
Inside the space where Atatürk's symbolic tomb is located, there are tall metal lamps, each filled with the dirt from various provinces of Turkey.


The view of Ankara from Anitkabir
Anıtkabir is surrounded by "Peace Park" which is filled with trees imported from all over the world. Additionally, it gives you a great view of the smog that hovers over the city (espcially during the winter).


Kocatepe Mosque
From Anıtkabir, we headed to Kızılay and Kocatepe (pronounced k-owe-jah-teh-peh) Mosque. This relatively new mosque is the only piece of Ottoman Architecture in the entire city, and it wasn't even built by the Ottomans. Despite this, Kocatepe Mosque has become the symbol of the city.


You couldn't see it in the previous photo, but Kocatepe Mosque actually has a supermarket (sort of K-Mart meets grocery store) directly underneath it. You can sort of see its entrance at the bottom in this photo.


We spent the rest of the day wandering around Kızılay, stopping at various cafes to drink çay and play Tavla/Backgammon (the real Turkish life). I found some of the best ice cream I've ever had at Cafe Su, which apparently has a karaoke bar in the basement.


The Former Red Crescent Headquarters
This is just the view from the park on Atatürk Caddesi- complete with fountains and the inescapable Atatürk statue. The massive building in the photo is actually empty; it used to be the headquarters of the Red Crescent (like the Red Cross).

After dinner, we headed back to ODTÜ, dad packed up and headed for the airport via taxi. It was a good weekend.