Modern Ankara: Embassies, Galleries and Upscale Neighborhoods
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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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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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