Postal code 06xxx Area 268 km² | Time zone EET (UTC+2) Licence plate 06 Elevation 986 m Area code 0312 | |
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Colleges and Universities Middle East Technical, Hacettepe University, Bilkent University, TOBB University of Econo, Ankara University - Law Scho Points of interest | ||
Çankaya is a district of Ankara, Turkey. It is home to many government buildings, including the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, as well as nearly all foreign embassies to Turkey. Çankaya is a cosmopolitan district and considered the cultural and financial center of Ankara.
Contents
- Map of C387ankaya2FAnkara Turkey
- Demographics
- History
- Culture
- Neighbourhoods
- Climate
- Places of interest
- References
Map of %C3%87ankaya%2FAnkara, Turkey
Demographics
The population of the central province is close to 1 million in 2016.
History
Until the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, Çankaya was a hillside of orchards and gardens to the south of the city, which had grown up in time, surrounding the Ankara Castle (Kale) on the opposite hill. Everything changed in the 1920s when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to stay in one of the garden houses. Atatürk selected Ankara as capital of the new republic and in the 1920s and 30s the city quickly grew, especially in the direction of Çankaya. In 1934 the writer Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu described the area as "a wooden bridge, a dirt road, and when you come round the hill you see a hillside, green in gentle contours. That's Çankaya." Çankaya eventually developed into one of the largest central districts of Ankara in later years.
Culture
The early buildings of the republic were in grand Ottoman style, but today Çankaya also contains a number of impressive modern buildings. The district is home to a great number of museums, theatres, cinemas, cultural associations, booksellers, publishers and libraries, including the National Library in a new building. Many of the streets in the district are named after poets, writers and thinkers.
Most of Ankara's best-known high schools and a great number of university buildings are in the district, including the large campuses of METU, Bilkent University and (most of) Hacettepe University. Çankaya University, a private institution owned by businessman Sıtkı Alp, was opened in a number of former school buildings in 1997.
Neighbourhoods
There are 124 neighbourhoods in Çankaya as of 2017.
Climate
The climate in Çankaya is cold and temperate. The winter months are much rainier than the summer months in Çankaya. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is Dsa. The average annual temperature in Çankaya is 11.5 °C. In a year, the average rainfall is 384 mm.