The Turkish capital of Ankara doesn’t have a great reputation, even inside the country. Many Istanbulians look down on this so-called “grey, soulless desert” in the middle of Anatolia.
Yet the city, famous internationally mostly for hosting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s mausoleum, is about to host a Nato summit on 7-8 July. I suppose everyone will soon be able to see for themselves whether Ankara really lives up to its reputation as a boring corner of the country.
To be honest, I am not an unbiased observer. I have lived in Ankara since 2019, and I love the city. Its history stretches back to the ancient Hittites. For centuries, it was famous for its goat wool, and it was once an important Roman trade centre.
The Ottomans did not pay much attention to this trading post, especially after, as legend has it, Europeans managed to smuggle some of its goats to South Africa and the United States in the 19th century, helping bring an end to Ankara’s wool business.
But Ataturk had a vision. He oversaw the construction of schools, theatres, large boulevards, ministries and parks in the 1920s and 30s, many of which survive to this day. That is why Ankara is full of surprises.
