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The city of Ankara located in the center of Anatolia on
the eastern rim of the great, high Anatolian Plateau, at
an altitude of 850 meters. Ankara is the center of the province
of the same name, which is a largely fertile wheat steppe-land
with wooded areas in its northeast region. Ankara is surrounded
by the provinces of Bolu and Cankiri to the north, Eskisehir
to the west, Konya and Aksaray to the south, and Kirikkale
and Kirsehir to the east.
The region's history can be traced back to the Bronze Age;
Hatti Civilization, which was flourished in the 2nd millennium
BC by the Hittites, then the Phrygians (10th century BC);
Lydians and Persians followed. The Galatians came After
these, a Celtic race who were the first to make Ankara their
capital (3rd century BC). Ankara was then known as Ancyra
, that means anchor. The town subsequently goes in the hand
of Romans, Byzantines, and Selcuks under ruler Alparslan
in 1073, and then to the Ottomans under sultan Yildirim
Beyazit in 1402, who remained in control until the First
World War.
The town, once an important Business and trading center
on the caravan route to the east, had declined in importance
by the nineteenth century. Ankara became an important center
again when Kemal Ataturk chose it as the base from which
to direct the War of Liberation. In consequence of its role
in the war and its strategic position, it was declared the
capital of the new Turkish Republic on the 13th October,
1923.
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