Ankara, Turkey
In mid-May, Chuck's business took us to Ankara, the capital of Turkey, where he participated in talks between US Defense Department officials and representatives of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense on the subject of Defense cooperation. We arrived on Saturday and had Sunday (and part of Monday) available for sightseeing.
Our first destination was Ankara Castle -- an ancient fortification on the central hill of Ankara. This fort dates from the dawn of recorded history of the area. Over the years, various successive civilizations took possession of the Castle and added to its defenses. Some of the additions to the walls made use of the debris of classic Greek and Roman buildings -- one can see carved stones, many with inscriptions (some upside down), that were used as mere raw material for the walls. You can see some of this in the photos at:
http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1501872
From the Castle it was a short walk down the hill to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. (Anatolia is the Asian part of Turkey -- also referred to as "Asia Minor" in the past.) From reading the Old Testament you may remember the Hittites, the Phrygians and the Assyrians -- and more. These civilizations all existed in Anatolia, which is the site of hundreds of archaeological excavations. This is a museum for a full day, at least -- for anyone interested in ancient history. The exhibits include paleolithic, neolithic, bronze age, iron age and more modern objects. Cuneiform, one of the earliest writing methods, using wedge shaped styli on clay tablets is on display in the form of dozens of those tablets -- which represent warehouse inventories, laundry lists and letters to and from kings. This is a stunning museum -- and all labels and signs are in English as well as Turkish.
This is a shopping mall near our hotel.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a highly successful Army commander in World War I, when Turkey was allied with the Germans -- he defeated the British and French in the Gallipoli campaign. After the war he masterminded two major victories over the Greek army which tried to occupy Turkey in the vacuum left by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. In the 1920s his prestige was such that he became the first President of the Republic of Turkey, which he brought into being almost exclusively through the strength of his personality. He transformed Turkey into a modern nation, establishing parliamentary democracy and putting the country (which is 99% Muslim) on a sound secular footing. He also brought about full equality for women and abolished the old style of dress (for both men and women) that was traditional in the Ottoman Empire. (The first female fighter pilot in any air force was a Turkish woman -- in the 1930s!) He also implemented educational and other reforms. As a result, he is revered in Turkey -- occupying a position akin to a combination of Washington, Jefferson and Madison combined. Buildings everywhere are festooned with large photos of him -- and an office without a photo or painting of the man is truly rare. One of his reforms was the "surname act" which required all Turks, who had not previously done so, to have surnames -- parliament gave him the surname of "Ataturk" -- father of the Turks.
He is buried in a very large mausoleum/museum complex in Ankara which we thought was impressive, beautiful and, in the museum portion, very interesting and well-done. There are also pictures of the Ataturk memorial in our photos. There were a number of groups of Turkish teenage students touring the memorial -- and we had a lot of fun with some of them. They were very friendly and unfailingly polite -- and extremely fascinated by anyone who spoke English. We took some pictures with a few of them.
While Chuck was working, Kathi also visited the Museum of Ethnography which, while interesting, did not measure up to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. On Tuesday night we enjoyed a great dinner in the yard of a restaurant with the other eight members of the official delegation Chuck was part of. On completion of the delegation's work on Wednesday, there was a reception with Turkish industry representatives, then we were off to the Ankara airport for a 40 minute flight to Istanbul.
Again, there are Ankara pictures at: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1501872
Our first destination was Ankara Castle -- an ancient fortification on the central hill of Ankara. This fort dates from the dawn of recorded history of the area. Over the years, various successive civilizations took possession of the Castle and added to its defenses. Some of the additions to the walls made use of the debris of classic Greek and Roman buildings -- one can see carved stones, many with inscriptions (some upside down), that were used as mere raw material for the walls. You can see some of this in the photos at:
http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1501872
From the Castle it was a short walk down the hill to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. (Anatolia is the Asian part of Turkey -- also referred to as "Asia Minor" in the past.) From reading the Old Testament you may remember the Hittites, the Phrygians and the Assyrians -- and more. These civilizations all existed in Anatolia, which is the site of hundreds of archaeological excavations. This is a museum for a full day, at least -- for anyone interested in ancient history. The exhibits include paleolithic, neolithic, bronze age, iron age and more modern objects. Cuneiform, one of the earliest writing methods, using wedge shaped styli on clay tablets is on display in the form of dozens of those tablets -- which represent warehouse inventories, laundry lists and letters to and from kings. This is a stunning museum -- and all labels and signs are in English as well as Turkish.
This is a shopping mall near our hotel.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a highly successful Army commander in World War I, when Turkey was allied with the Germans -- he defeated the British and French in the Gallipoli campaign. After the war he masterminded two major victories over the Greek army which tried to occupy Turkey in the vacuum left by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. In the 1920s his prestige was such that he became the first President of the Republic of Turkey, which he brought into being almost exclusively through the strength of his personality. He transformed Turkey into a modern nation, establishing parliamentary democracy and putting the country (which is 99% Muslim) on a sound secular footing. He also brought about full equality for women and abolished the old style of dress (for both men and women) that was traditional in the Ottoman Empire. (The first female fighter pilot in any air force was a Turkish woman -- in the 1930s!) He also implemented educational and other reforms. As a result, he is revered in Turkey -- occupying a position akin to a combination of Washington, Jefferson and Madison combined. Buildings everywhere are festooned with large photos of him -- and an office without a photo or painting of the man is truly rare. One of his reforms was the "surname act" which required all Turks, who had not previously done so, to have surnames -- parliament gave him the surname of "Ataturk" -- father of the Turks.
He is buried in a very large mausoleum/museum complex in Ankara which we thought was impressive, beautiful and, in the museum portion, very interesting and well-done. There are also pictures of the Ataturk memorial in our photos. There were a number of groups of Turkish teenage students touring the memorial -- and we had a lot of fun with some of them. They were very friendly and unfailingly polite -- and extremely fascinated by anyone who spoke English. We took some pictures with a few of them.
While Chuck was working, Kathi also visited the Museum of Ethnography which, while interesting, did not measure up to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. On Tuesday night we enjoyed a great dinner in the yard of a restaurant with the other eight members of the official delegation Chuck was part of. On completion of the delegation's work on Wednesday, there was a reception with Turkish industry representatives, then we were off to the Ankara airport for a 40 minute flight to Istanbul.
Again, there are Ankara pictures at: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1501872
posted by Chuck and Kathi Calvano @ 3:13 PM
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