USA Turkish Times - Turkeys capital: A city of plentiful parks

Turkeys capital: A city of plentiful parks

As temperatures rise and the summer season starts to emerge in all its heat, Ankara residents are flocking to the city's parks and rest spots on the weekends. Over the past decade, the inhabitants of the Turkish capital have seen a total of 4,573,000 square meters of recreation space made available for their use. Some of these places are spots like Mogan Park, Goksu Park, Harikalar Diyari and Mavi Gol, where people enjoy picnics and shed the stress that results from city living. What's more, residents of the capital can reach these parks and recreation spots by private vehicle or, if they want, mass transportation facilities.

Altınpark, Mogan Park, Göksu Park, Mavi Göl Park and Kuğulupark await Ankarites keen to escape the crowds, pollution and traffic of the city. Combined, Altınpark, Mavi Göl and Harikalar Diyarı (Wonderland) alone offer six-and-a-half square kilometers of green space to nature-hungry urbanites.

ANFA is the firm responsible for the maintenance of most of Ankara's parks, including plant care and cleaning, according to ANFA General Manager Ferhat Ertürk. Mavi Göl, Göksu, Harikalar Diyarı and Moganpark, all Ankara Municipality projects, are the capital's most popular parks.

Altınpark: Altınpark, which won an award for best park in the eastern Mediterranean, is a good reminder of the long-forgotten delights of nature. Altınpark invites Ankara's citizens to get away from the noise of the city in an environment where birds sing on tree branches and thousands of flowers bloom.

The park has been called a landscaping wonder. It has 125,000 trees, 72,000 various plants and 2.5 million flowers. In Altınpark you can visit a greenhouse displaying and selling plants and an aviary with pigeons, eagles, peacocks and more. In the park's small lake you can adventure out on a boat or pedal-boat.

During the summer nights you can watch plays put on by the Göl Theater; during the days you can visit İskele Tea Garden or the Yörük Tent and Picnic Area. Altınpark also has facilities for tennis, roller and skating and an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Feza Gürsey Science Center, located in the park's center, plays host to important fairs and congresses and also includes a smorgasbord of restaurants, including international tastes from China and Italy. The park in addition has a wedding hall.

Mogan Park: Following the road to Gölbaşı in the direction of Konya, you will reach Mogan Park. This park features a watchtower and a 130-meter-long wooden path. Mogan Park also has a two-and-a-half-kilometer walking track alongside the blue waters of the lake.

Next to the lakeshore you will find barbeque area with dozens of metal pergolas. In the park, which has a 25-meter-high lighthouse, your children can enjoy the "Oyuncakistan" (Toyland) toy park and mini-train tours around the park. Children can also have fun in the water games pool with battery-powered boats.

The park's amphitheater, built in the Roman style, can seat 3,000 and hosts many events during the summer. You can visit the Marine Museum and see aquatic tools and devices such as a pressure counter, distance counter and direction finder.

The park has a large wedding hall, mini-racecar track, open-air cinema, 800-meter-long running track, tennis courts, basketball courts and cafeterias.

Lake views with the feel of the sea: Mogan Park, which sits on 602,000 square meters in Golbasi, boasts a marina island reached by suspension bridges, a wooden shoreline path, running and walking paths, children's play areas (including special areas for handicapped children), three tennis courts, two mini football fields and basketball courts.

In addition, the park also has a horseback riding center, a general sports center, the Mogan Lake Research Center, a lighthouse building, a small water craft center, a water depot, all sorts of different cafeterias, information buildings, a skateboard area, a bicycle club and a health unit.

As a part of the Mogan Lake's four kilometer wooden walking platform along the shore there are three viewing terraces and 400 park benches. Picnic facilities at the park are generous, with barbeque and picnic tables able to accommodate 200 families at the same time. In terms of flora, more than 100,000 saplings have been planted in Mogan Park.

The lake waters at Mogan Park are illuminated in the evenings by a laser system attached to the top of the lighthouse on the shores of the lake. Also overlooking the lake is an amphitheater that can hold 3,000 and a wedding salon for 1,000.

Mavi Göl Park: Mavi Göl Park was constructed near Bayındır Dam, which has supplied Ankara with water for many years. The park has diverse flora and fauna, where you can see cockscombs, cypresses, Dwarf Alberta Spruces (Picea glauca albertiana conica), Cornelian cherry dogwoods (Cornus mas), wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) and firethorns (Pyracantha coccinea). Many picnic areas also await visitors.

Wooden gazebos around the lake and shaded picnic tables host weekend picnickers. For visitors that like fishing, there are wooden platforms and terraces for viewing the scenery. The pure waters of Mavi Göl offer many opportunities for water sports fans. Visitors can also take small sailboats or pedal-boats onto the lake. The park has facilities for running, volleyball, beach volleyball, basketball and football.

In terms of recreation areas for Ankara residents, the giant Mavi Göl (Blue Lake) recreation area, built over 2,121,000 square meters of space near Kayas, comes at the top of the list. The Mavi Gol picnic area was created out of a rehabilitation effort aimed at Bayındır Dam. Only 12 kilometers outside of the city center, Mavi Göl meets all the recreation needs of Ankara residents.

Picnic-goers can enjoy the 370 barbeque sets, 800 wooden picnic tables, 60 arbors, 30 shady areas overlooking the lake, 50 family swings, tea gardens, viewing terraces, fountains and toilets.

For children of families coming to Mavi Göl, 22 play sets (two big, 20 small) have been set up in the recreation area, in addition to four docks leading into the lake. Paddle-boats are also available for people wanting to venture out onto the lake.

One dock has been set aside on Mavi Göl for people interested in fishing. In addition, there are volleyball, basketball and football courts available for sports enthusiasts, as well as one mini golf course, four athletic conditioning stations and walking paths.

Harikalar Diyarı (Wonderland) Park: Harikalar Diyarı has the distinction of being the largest park in Europe. Including trees and bushes, the park has almost 40,000 varieties of plants. Fantasy Island welcomes visitors with such characters as Pinocchio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Asterix. Other places frequented by children are the colorful toy land Oyuncakistan, a go-kart track and a mini train ride. The park also has a mini-golf area, barbeque area, Yörük Tent, Göl Tea Garden, the Nejat Uygur Amphitheater, a wedding hall, a wedding palace, Hanımlar Lokali (a women's-only entertainment facility) and a youth center.

As a part of Ankara's Harikalar Diyarı recreation area, which is built on 771,000 square meters of green space and includes 330,000 square meters of roads and squares, 40,000 square meters of car park space and 67,000 square meters of building space, there is also a 25,000 square meter "Fairy Tale Island" specifically for children.

This Fairy Tale Island boasts a specially designed landscape and lighting, featuring miniature versions of fairy tale characters' settings and 12 small cinemas where small children can watch films.

Some of the characters featured on Fairy Tale Island are Tarkan, Karacaoglan and Bogahan, Nasretting Hoja, Keloglan, Alaadin and the Magic Lamp, Karagoz and Hacivat, the Seven Dwarves, Red Kit and Dalton, and the Flintstones. In addition, there are also one main and two side wedding salons, a lakeside area with an open golf course that can accommodate 5,000 and a lakeside tea garden. For food, visitors can enjoy delicious dishes from the Anadolu Sofrasi restaurant or go to one of the many cafeterias or fast food locations. There is also a modern conference room that can host 350 people, a cinema and theater salon, and football, basketball and handball courts.

The Sincan Youth Center features open and closed swimming pools with easy access for handicapped as well as an outside cafe, a conditioning salon, picnic areas, bicycle and walking paths, parking lots and a 771,000-square-meter green area.

Capital residents can reach Harikalar Diyara, located on the 12th kilometer of the Ayas Road, from the Sincan Metro.

Göksu Park: The Susuz small lake hosts hundreds of water birds, giving life to Göksu Park, which has 70,000 varieties of plants. In the park, which also has a large barbeque area, visitors can ride the first mountain sledge in Turkey, which offers free service to the Seyir Tower. Other notable features of the park include its own Oyuncakistan, go-kart track, mini-train, amphitheater and miniature tower. The small lake is spread over 141,000 square meters, about one-quarter of the park's total area (508,000 square meters). There are also facilities for volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, basketball and football.

Kuğulupark: Kuğulupark is almost a symbol of Ankara and represents an irreplaceable meeting place for Ankarites. Kuğulupark also is a neighbor to the popular shopping locale of Tunalı Hilmi Street and has many restaurants, perfumeries, pastry shops, banks, flower shops and cinemas in its surroundings. The pool of the park hosts swans (after which the park is named), ducks and many other water birds.

Seğmenler Park: Seğmenler Park is located in the valley between Iran Street and Atatürk Boulevard and was opened in 1983. In the park, spread over a 67,000-square-meter area, you can visit pools, children's playgrounds and an amphitheater that occasionally host concerts.

Botanik Park: On the hillside below the presidential palace and neighboring Ankara landmark Atakule, Botanik Park covers 65,000 square meters and provides an oasis of calm for visitors. The Bell of Peace, located in the park, is rung each year on the anniversary the first atomic bomb. This park also contains decorative pools, greenhouses, children's gardens and sculptures.

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