Ankara is Turkey's capital and the country's second largest city, with a population of 3,582,000 residents (2003).
Centrally located in Anatolia, Ankara is an important industrial and commercial city, as well as a trading and transportation crossroads. It also is the market hub for the surrounding agricultural area. Before becoming the capital, the city was noted for its Angora wool.
The capital is home to the Presidential Philharmonic Orchestra and the state theater. Also located there are the Archaeological Museum, the Ethnographical Museum and the National Library. The remains of Kemal Atatürk, the most significant figure of 20th century Turkish history, are enshrined in a mausoleum there. The city is the home of several universities as well.
Urban development has separated the city into Yenisehir, the new sector, and Ulus, the old sector. Yenisehir boasts the look of a modern metropolis: government offices and foreign embassies, apartment complexes, hotels, theaters and shopping malls on broad streets. By contrast, Ulus is characterized by ancient buildings set along narrow, winding streets, exuding Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman influences.
