Welcome to Ankara in parallel with the history of humanity

The first primate residues in Anatolia were found in Ankara and these findings dating back 10 million years were called Ankarapithecus meteai.

The first settlement in Ankara, which has been called Ankuwash, Ancyra, Angora and Engürü throughout the history, was around the Ankara castle.

The region’s history dates back to the Bronze Age Hatti Civilizations, which was succeeded in the 2nd millenium BC by the Hittites, in the 10th century BC by the Phrygians, then by the Lydians, Persians and Macedonian King Alexander the Great. After these Ankara was occupied by Galatians, who were the first to make Ankara their Capital known as Ancyra ( meaning anchor ). Ankara’s written history starts with Galatians.
The city subsequently fell to the Romans and Byzantines. During Galatians and Romans , it remained as a strategic position between east and west. It was an important cultural, trading and arts center.

The Seljuk Turks opened up Anatolia for Turkish rule in 1071 and took control of Ankara in 1073. The city was connected to the Ottoman Empire in 1354 and remained under the Ottoman control until the First World War. Ankara was the center of the Anatolian province during the magnificent Süleyman period, was enriched with the famous Angora goat mohair, ‘ sof fabric ‘ made from this mohair, leather making, shoemaking, vineyards and grain-growing. It was an important trading center on the caravan route to the east in Ottoman Times.
It had declined in importance by the 19th century. It again became an important center during War of Liberation and was declared as the capital of Republic of Turkey. And developed rapidly again.

You are in Ankara which has been home to many cultures for thousands of years with its strategic location. You can see the traces of our thousands of years of history in The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, the Temple of Augustus, the Open Air Museum of the Roman Baths, Seljuk and Ottoman monuments.

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Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is located next to Ankara Castle. It was selected as the Museum of the Year in Europe in 1997. It is an exceptional museum with its historical building and unique collection. Museum is consists of two Ottoman buildings built in the 15th century, one of which is a bazaar and the other is a hotel. These buildings, which were abandoned in time, were renovated to exhibit artifacts collected from Anatolia and turned into a two-storey museum.

In the museum, Anatolian archaeological artifacts starting from the Paleolithic Age to the present are exhibited in chronological order. At the entrance you can turn right and see very rare works from Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Old Bronze, Assyrian, Old Hittite, Phrygian, Late Hittite, Urartu, Lydian periods.

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Anıtkabir ( literally, ‘ memorial tomb ‘ ) is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatūrk, the leader of the Turkish Independence War, founder of Rebuplic of Turkey and architect of Turkish revolutions. Anıtkabir represents Turkish nation and Anatolia under the name and personality of Ataturk. It was built on tumuluses ( graves ) belonging to Phrygian Civilization and sembolizes ancient Anatolian Civilizations and Turkish Tribes with its architecture, sculptures and reliefs which were designed with the same vision.
The construction of Anıtkabir was started in November 1944 and completed in 9 years in 4 stages. It covers approximately 750.000 m2 Anıtkabir can be seperated into two parts. Peace Park and the Monument Block. Anıtkabir is placed in the Peace Park, which is created with saplings from several foreign countries and from several regions of Turkey, that is inspired from the epigram of Atatürk; “Peace at home, peace in the world”. Anıtkabir contains Lion Road, Ceromony Area, Mausoleum and 10 Towers.

Atatürk and the War of İndepence Museum takes part in Anıtkabir. It has an exhibition area of 5.200 m2. Atatürk’s personal items, medals, gifts presented to him and books in his library are on display in the museum. Museum also contains Boards which describe the establishment of Turkish Rebublic period with full of struggles and galleries that tell İndependence War and Turkish Revolutions.

We recommend that you spend at least 2 hours for this trip.

How to go?

20-25 minutes from Hotel SAMM by taxi ( not in rush hour )

Address: Anit Street, Tandogan, Ankara

Visiting hours: Everyday 09:00am. – 16:00pm.

Free

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Although the exact date of construction is unknown, it is believed to have been built by the Hittites, who had a military garrison in the city. Preserving its same place since the Hittites; the Castle was repaired many times by Romans, Byzantines and Turks. It consists of an inner castle that covers the highest part of a hill in the center of Ankara and an outer castle that surrounds it. The four-stored inner castle is made of Ankara stone and field stones. You can see the column capitals, sarcophagi and sculpture fragments used in repairs in some parts of the walls.

While you can see a small part of the outer castle around the Temple of Augustus, the inner castle has survived to the present day. Inside the citadel, you can see the Alaeddin Mosque and the old Ankara houses, built by the Seljuk Turks in the 12th century with interesting antique columns and capitals. You can enjoy the view of Ankara from the city walls. We recommend that you spend at least 1 hour for this trip.

How to get there? When there’s no traffic, it is approximately 20-25 minutes away by taxi from the Hotel SAMM
Adress: Kale Mahallesi, Ulus, Ankara
Visiting hours: Every day at every hour. (Do not choose late hours.)
Free of charge

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On the hill where the Temple of Augustus situated, there was the temple built by the Phrygians in the 7th century BC for the Goddess Kybele and Men, Goddess of the Moon. When the Roman Emperor Augustus connected Ankara to Rome, the Temple of Augustus was built on the Temple of Men. Res Gestae Divi Augusti, one of the four documents left by the Roman Emperor Augustus before his death, is on the inner wall of this temple. The inscription on which the document was found was identified as Monumentum Ancyranum (Ankara Monument).

It is the best and most complete example of Augustus’ text. It is a very important and valuable temple for the history of the world. The 2000-year-old temple of Augustus is in the “list of 100 monuments that must be preserved” of World Monuments Fund. It is registered as a first degree cultural asset in our country. We recommend that you spend at least 1 hour for this trip. (The temple was converted into a church by making some changes during the Byzantine Empire. When the Seljuks conquered Ankara, the building was preserved, and the Hacı Bayram Mosque was built next to the temple during the Ottomans period)

How to get there? When there is no traffic it takes around 30-40 minutes by bus and 15-20 minutes by taxi. You can take the bus to Ulus from Uğur Mumcu Street where Hotel SAMM is located.
Adress: Anafartalar Caddesi, Sarıbağ Sokak, No. 13, Ulus, Ankara
Visiting hours: You can visit every day at every hour. (Do not choose late hours.)
Free of charge

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In 1928, the French Embassy Chancellery and a chapel were built on the land of the former St. Clement French College. In 1942, the consulate moved, and a French school was opened in its place. When the French school was moved, the chapel went through restorations in 2002 and opened its doors as the St. Teresa’s Latin Catholic Church. The mosaics, stained glass and column capitals are remarkable and the chapel is open for worship on Wednesdays (18.00) and Sundays (11.30); It is open to visitors on Tuesdays and Saturdays (14.00-17.00). Nevertheless, it is best to call before you visit: 0312 311 01 18

St Teresa’s Church It is an average 20-25 minutes by taxi from the Hotel SAMM when there is no traffic.
Adress: Kardeşler Sokak, No. 15 Ulus, Ankara Azize Tereza Kilisesi web sitesi

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The museum exhibits approximately 2,000 movable artifacts belonging to a private collection, almost all of which is Anatolian. Roman artifacts (bottles, bowls, jugs, glasses, small number of bracelets and rings), sealed ring gems and coins (gold, silver, bronze Hellenistic-Roman and Byzantine Period) are the prominent groups in the collection. Other important artifacts in the collection include pottery, bronze artifacts, jewelery, and a small number of cuneiform tablets and seals and items from the Byzantine period. If you are interested visit the Roman archaeological sites. We recommend that you spend at least 30 minutes for the museum.

How to get there?

When there’s no traffic, it is approximately 20-25 minutes away by taxi from the Hotel SAMM
Adress: Kale Mahallesi, Depo Sokak, No.1 Ulus, Ankara
Visiting hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 – 18:00
Museum entrance fee: Student 5 TL, adults 10 TL

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The historical fountain, built during the reign of the Ottoman Emperor Abdulhamid II, was moved from its place during a number of past arrangements and was re-installed to its present place. The fountain made of Ankara stone has antique columns on both sides of the triangular pediment. The moon-star motif on the mirror of the fountain with relief decorations, bowls and faucets is remarkable. If you want to see this Ottoman fountain in Ulus, you can find it just behind the Column of Julian. For this trip, we recommend you spend at least 30 minutes combined with the Julian Column in the immediate vicinity.

How to get there? It takes 30-40 minutes by bus and 15-20 minutes by taxi when there is no traffic. You can take the bus to Ulus from Uğur Mumcu Street where Hotel SAMM is located.

Adress: Çankırı Caddesi, Armutlu Sokak, Ankara Valiliği Meydanı, Ulus, Ankara

Visiting hours: You can visit every day at every hour. (We recommend you not to choose late hours.)

Free of charge

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The Julian Column was erected in 362 in honor of the Roman Emperor Julian’s visit to Ankara. However there are claims that it was constructed later. Column rises on a square pedestal. This unique architectural structure is 15 meters high and has many grooved ring-shaped white stones on top of its body; but it looks like one piece. Its head is decorated with leaves and its base and body are very simple. It has a Corinthian column cap model, with one face broken. The well-preserved Julian Column from the Roman period is popularly known as the Belkis Minaret. We recommend that you spend at least 10 minutes on the column and then continue your visit with the Augustus Temple nearby.

How to get there? It takes 30-40 minutes by bus and 15-20 minutes by taxi when there is no traffic. You can take the bus to Ulus from Uğur Mumcu Street where Hotel SAMM is located.

Adress: Çankırı Caddesi, Çam Sokak, Ankara Valiliği Meydanı, Ulus, Ankara

Visiting hours: You can visit every day at every hour. (We recommend you not to choose late hours.)

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It is the first industrial museum of Ankara. Çengelhan and Safranhan, which are the museum buildings, are historical accommodation places built during the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. In these 32 rooms, objects and documents related to industry and engineering belonging to all periods from past to present are exhibited. The museum collection with its rich variety includes transportation and communication tools, scientific instruments, medical and pharmaceutical objects. We recommend that you spend at least 1 hour on this trip. 

How to get there?

It is an average 20-25 minutes by taxi from the Hotel SAMM when there is no traffic.

Adress: Kale Mahallesi, Depo Sokak, No.1 Ulus, Ankara

Visiting hours: 10:00 to 17:00 on weekdays 10:00 to 09:00 on weekends

Museum entrance fee: Student 5 TL, adult 10 TL

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