Ankara

Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, is a very old city going back to ancient people such as the Hattians, the Hittites and, the Phrygians. The region was known as Galatia, and the New Testament letter to the Galatians was intended for new churches in this area. The Ottoman capital had been Istanbul, but it was moved to Ankara after the end of the empire and the formation of the modern Turkish Republic. Ankara is larger than any other city in Turkey except Istanbul.

Like so many other cities in this part of the world, Ankara grew up around a citadel on a hill. The following scenes are of Ankara Castle.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.938984,32.8653991,3a,75y,92.36h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipM1sLxiJM-P5sj4Nq0OuP5xTBQy8pgG_UkNWp-S!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipM1sLxiJM-P5sj4Nq0OuP5xTBQy8pgG_UkNWp-S%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya311.0726-ro-0-fo100!7i10752!8i4846

The area was near the eastern end of the Roman Empire. After the end of the empire, this eastern part would continue on as Byzantium, with it's capital at Constantinople. That would last for over a thousand years until Byzantium was conquered by a Turkic people who had migrated into the area, known as the Ottomans. They would adopt Constantinople as their capital, but change it's name to Istanbul. After the Ottoman Empire was more than seven hundred years old, it would be brought to an end and the modern Turkish Republic would be created, and it would move it's capital city to Ankara.

Early in the history of Byzantium, it constructed what would be the largest church in the world for a thousand years. It was called the Hagia Sophia. When the Ottomans conquered the city, they converted it to a mosque and built four minarets around it. Then, to show that they too were capable of such architecture they built the parallel structure facing it known today as the Blue Mosque. We saw all of this in the posting on this blog, "The House Of Holy Wisdom, Where The Modern World Began".

This is the Roman Baths at Ankara, and the nearby area.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9463687,32.853889,3a,75y,83.84h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNyRNWx-TIWKPuFUHEBuRvjVlpwUdLyuQhrz2bd!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNyRNWx-TIWKPuFUHEBuRvjVlpwUdLyuQhrz2bd%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0.6925693-ya81.992714-ro-1.4901562-fo100!7i7200!8i3600

A great mosque was also built by the Ottomans in Ankara, that was built in the style of the Hagia Sophia. It is a central feature of the city and is known as the Kocatepe Mosque. The following scenes begin inside.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9165069,32.8606502,3a,75y,131.96h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMCYCxPAo0rFFLd5enctHCDP9zLlVYaMx3FuYU3!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMCYCxPAo0rFFLd5enctHCDP9zLlVYaMx3FuYU3%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya178.5396-ro0-fo100!7i6656!8i3328

Ataturk was the founder, and first president of, modern Turkey. He has a vast Mausoleum in Ankara. It was his decision to move the capital of the country to Ankara. Doesn't the mausoleum remind you of the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, in the Valley of the Kings, that we saw in the posting on this blog, "Ramesses I"?

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9257585,32.8373795,2a,75y,162.14h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sIn6-nFiKhTAAAAGuwwIdjA!2e0!3e2!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DIn6-nFiKhTAAAAGuwwIdjA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D166.12056%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The recently-completed Presidential Complex is the largest living quarters of any head of state in the world. It outdid even the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The nearby mosque is part of the vast compound.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9272168,32.7970555,3a,75y,4.81h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTv3YCiGsn033z-OOkq24LA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DTv3YCiGsn033z-OOkq24LA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D3.688336%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The following views of central Ankara begin near the base of the Atakule Tower.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8855316,32.8553337,3a,75y,71.63h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s4_T98HmdoxdxQHV0U0A3Ig!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D4_T98HmdoxdxQHV0U0A3Ig%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D66.59455%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The far western part of Ankara is known as Sincan.

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This part of Ankara starts inside the Karum Mall.

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The following scenes are of Hattusas, sometimes spelled Chattusas. This was the capital city of a prominent ancient people known as the Hittites. They were a warlike people who lived in Asia Minor, as the Anatolian Peninsula is sometimes referred to as. They controlled an important empire, but were later eclipsed by the Assyrians. Unlike so many of the other peoples named in the Bible, the Hittites were never enemies of the Israelites.

The Hittites are not actually related to the modern Turkish people, many of who are of Turkic origin and migrated to the area in medieval times, before forming the Ottoman Empire. Neither are the Hittites the same people as the Hattians, who were in the area before them. But their name may have come from the Hattians.

The kingdom of Babylon, which conquered the Assyrians and took the Israelites captive was actually Neo-Babylon. The original Babylon had existed nearly a thousand years before that, This original Babylon is the one that produced the famed law code of Hammurabi. That original Babylon was overthrown by the Hittites, in 1531 B.C.,who did not take control of it themselves but gave it to some of their allies.

The best-known king of the Hittites was Suppilulliuma I. He wanted to form an alliance with Egypt by marrying his son to the widow of King Tutankhamen. But the son was killed, maybe murdered, on the way to Egypt. The Egyptians and Hittites later fought in the Battle of Kadesh, which is probably the best-understood battle of ancient times.

But this battle led to the first-known peace treaty between two nations and, as far as is known, the first written agreement between nations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kadesh#/media/File:Treaty_of_Kadesh.jpg

This was the Hittite capital city of Hattusas.

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On our visit to "Istanbul", there was something that I wanted to add, but didn't because the posting was getting too long. Before the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, in 1453, and renamed it as Istanbul, they gradually closed in on the city as they captured more territory. There was an Ottoman fortress alongside the Bosporus Strait, on the Anatolian (Asian) side, to the north of the city.

About fifty years after that fortress was built, they built another fortress just opposite on the European side. Working together, these two fortresses were to cut off any supplies that might be sent to the besieged city from it's allies on the coast of the Black Sea. The stone fortress on the European side, the larger of the two, is called Rumeli Hisari. The fortress is now within Istanbul, and is used for events such as carnivals and concerts. The following scenes are of Rumeli Hisari.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0848768,29.0569251,3a,75y,49.78h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sPeZ93wesUfsybLDfb-M7Xw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DPeZ93wesUfsybLDfb-M7Xw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D41.710274%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656