Ankara is Turkey’s administrative center and a significant university town, hence it has a sizable population of government employees and university students. Because Ankara is home to a significant number of foreign diplomats and embassy employees, it provides products and services that may be more difficult to get in other Turkish towns, such as ordering a coffee or a cheeseburger.
Ankara is a huge, contemporary metropolis that, at first view, seems to be nothing more than a drab, concrete jungle. As a consequence, many people just utilize it as a stopover on their way to sites like Konya or Cappodocia. Ankara, on the other hand, has a lot to offer for those willing to dig a little deeper.
Foreign tourists to Ankara often visit the historic stores on krkçlar Yokuşu (Weavers’ Road) in Ulus, where they may find a wide variety of items at low costs, including traditional textiles, hand-woven carpets, and leather goods. Bakrclar arşs (Bazaar of Coppersmiths) is quite popular, and many unique products, other than copper, may be obtained here, such as jewelry, carpets, costumes, antiques, and needlework. Many stores provide a large and fresh selection of spices, dried fruits, nuts, and other products up the hill to the castle gate.
Modern shopping areas are mostly found in Kzlay or on Tunal Hilmi Avenue, including the modern mall of Karum (named after the ancient Assyrian merchant colonies called Kârum that were established in central Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC) at the Avenue’s end; and in ankaya, the city’s highest elevation quarter. The Atakule Tower in ankaya, near to the Atrium Mall, boasts a wonderful view over Ankara and also features a rotating restaurant at the top, where the city’s panorama may be experienced slowly.
There are around 50 museums in the city.