10 Best Cap Toe Dress Shoes

Best Cap Toe Dress Shoes in 2023

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Cheap and Cheerful in Turkey's Capital City: Ankara on a Shoestring

Visiting Ankara for just one day? Take advice from an ex-pat in Ankara to get the most out of one day in Ankara for the least amount of money!

Situated in Central Anatolia, Ankara is not often a stop for visitors to Turkey but the narrow, steep streets of the old section, Ulus, and the vibrancy of the tea salons and bars in Kizilay presided over by Ankara's main mosque, Koçatepe, are well worth a visit if you are looking for an affordable adventure far from the maddening crowds of Istanbul and the south coast. In the old area surrounding Ankara's ancient castle, there are endless offers of tea in every shop and goods ranging from spices and hand beaten copper - both "old but not antique" pieces that are over 200 years old and new pieces being made on the streets as you pass by - to shovel heads and sugar sacks.

Once in Ankara, ask a taxi driver to take you to the citadel "kalesi lütfen" and as he enters the wide square area filled with spice, nut, grain and dried fruit vendors, ask him to stop. Standing in the heart of Ulus with cobbled roads radiating out, the best bet is to walk through the gates of the castle and up the steep road. Entrance to the castle is free as long as you don't consider being hounded by children trying to sell evil eye trinkets a cost. As you walk up, past the shops selling ceramics, kilims and several renovated restaurants and pensions, notice the Roman ruins laid haphazardly into the walls of the castle and the occasional Corinthian column adorning a sidewalk in a comical sort of way. From the top of the castle, you can view the entire city and beyond. While it would be nice if it were romantic enough for picnics, refrain as it is often windy and local children will incessantly ask you where you are from or play football in the enclosed area of the castle.

Heading back out of the citadel, the same way as you came up, re-enter the square where grain, nuts etc. are sold and have a look at their stock. You can't go wrong with Turkish hazelnuts so it's worth buying some for snacking on. There are two wonderful dining choices here. One is the ultimate in cheap and cheerful and the other evokes 1940's European sophistication. Facing away from the grain and nut vendors, both are on your left. The first is Ismail Piknik. Ismail's is sunken into the parking lot area with a vibrant awning over a few tables covered in bright oilcloth and gourds hanging down. Here you can eat a kebab meal complete with soft drinks for 10 YTL for two people. The meal is large, satisfying, authentic and cheap. If you ask for tea, a young boy will bring it on a tray, seemingly out of nowhere, as the tea seems to always be made off-site in Ulus and brought round by tea sellers. No alcohol is served here.

Alternatively, you may choose to spend a bit more and opt for the Idol Antik Café above the Idol Antik store just a few buildings down from the piknik eatery. Enter this antique store selling mostly lamps and go past the wood burning stove up the stairs at the back of the store. Feeling like you have stepped into a time warp as you round the last step you may choose to sit in the airy inner room or out on the balcony with a view of Ankara if the weather is agreeable. With cloth wallpaper, vintage prints, rough hewn tables and the strains of Frank Sinatra, Edith Piaf or music from The Buena Vista Social Club playing, here is your chance to sit back and let the atmosphere of this old ottoman house and the call of the imam over the music carry you away. The menu here is small but offers more variety than the piknik place, as there are salads, crepes, omelets, manti (Turkish ravioli) and spaghetti. Here, they do serve beer in addition to soft drinks, juice and filter coffee. Plan to spend about 20 YTL on lunch here for two people.

Across the street from these two eateries is the Koç Museum. Housed in an old caravan stopping point (caravanserai) built in 1522, the admission for 4 YTL per person is worth it if you feel like looking at myriad small antiques like toys, train sets, medical equipment and more. Note though that you must pay a further 6 YTL to take pictures. A five-minute walk down this road away from the places to eat is the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Always mentioned in guidebooks it is well worth stopping in as it is among the best museums in Turkey with a collection on display that is big enough to be interesting but not overwhelming. And it is beautifully presented in another old caravan stop. Admission here is 10 YTL per person.

To explore the true magic of Ulus, after the museum go again towards the main square with the nut sellers at the entrance to the castle and walk past the places on offer to eat and down a narrow alley. Here is your chance to really explore. Stop in the spice shop directly opposite the Idol Café and Antique shop to sample some scrumptious sun dried apricots (the large juicy darker ones, not the smaller, more shriveled, bright oranges ones) and marvel at the spices on shelves up to the ceilings. Further down you can find places to buy Angora goat skin rugs, hardware supplies, rope, a tailor, a colorful bead shop and more. Exploring around this area is a real treat and will likely lead to finding a carpet shop (one street to the left as you head down the hill) or the copper district (a few streets over and down as you head down the hill).

Carpets are priced comparably here in Ankara as with elsewhere in Turkey although you might get a slightly better deal here than major tourist towns depending on season and weather the salesman has sold anything that day. Even if you are not in the mood to buy, it is a pleasure to sit and drink apple tea and listen to the pitch of the salesman as he throws carpet after carpet on the floor in front of you. In the copper district, you are likely to get some excellent deals - Frommer's even recommends this area as the place to go if you want to buy copper in Turkey. But if you are not in the market for souvenirs, not to worry, just walking around this area creates lasting memories.

Once you have reached the bottom of Ulus, head towards Atatürk Boulevard. You can either take the subway from the station in Ulus to Kizilay (one station away), a cab or walk there (it is a bit of walk, about 40 mins). In Kizilay, places to eat are a dime a dozen, as are places to have a beer. Have an Iskender kebab somewhere outside and watch the young folks of Ankara go by. A cup of tea and a game of tavla (backgammon) might be in order at one of the teahouses. But the best place in the whole area might just be a small bar that features oodles of atmosphere and folk music every night. Located in the heart of Kizilay, it is inside a huge concrete complex that once inside, has a courtyard with four stories of bars and clubs surrounding it. Fikrim, the bar with the excellent ethnic music, is on the top floor in one corner. Plan on the place being smoky if it's a packed night but it really is worth it to hear some of the best Turkish folk music on offer in Ankara. An Efes(the local beer) runs about 3 YTL. And there you have it: A cheap and cheerful day in Ankara!