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Seeing Ankara from Above

Ankara's average elevation is 938 metres, and the city is built less on a flat plain than among hills and slopes. That is why the easiest way to understand it is to climb a hill and look down.

Radar TürkiyeRadar Türkiye15 Ekim 2026
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Seeing Ankara from Above

Ankara's average elevation is 938 metres, and the city is built less on a flat plain than among hills and slopes. That is why the easiest way to understand it is to climb a hill and look down. In this article we go one by one through the places where the capital can be seen from above, from the towers of the citadel over the roofs of the old market, from the tower on the Çankaya ridge to the new tower in the north, and from the parks of Keçiören to the cable car line. For each stop we also note what to look at, what time of day makes sense, and what to check before you go.

Old Ankara from the citadel towers

The oldest way to look down on the city is to climb Ankara Castle. When it was built is not known for certain, but it is known that the citadel existed when the Galatians settled in Ankara. It was repaired many times in the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. The castle consists of an inner citadel covering the high part of the hill and an outer citadel surrounding it. The walls of the inner citadel are 14 to 16 metres high, and on top of them stand 42 towers, most of them five-sided. The highest point of the castle is Akkale, at the south-east corner of the inner citadel. The inner citadel covers about 43,000 square metres; the outer citadel has nearly twenty towers of its own, and its walls encircle the old town of Ankara. Of the two large gates of the inner citadel, one is called the outer gate and the other the citadel gate; above the gate is an Ilkhanid inscription, and in the north-west section an inscription shows that part was built by the Seljuks.

Look at the walls on your way up as well. According to the Kültür Envanteri record, when the castle was repaired after the raids of the 7th century, pieces of Roman buildings and the terracotta pipes of the Roman water line were used as building material. According to Wikipedia, during the raids of the 8th and 9th centuries, too, marble blocks and column capitals from ruined Roman monuments were set into the walls while the castle was hastily repaired. Today these pipes can be seen on the walls, especially on the east side close to the water line. So even before you reach the view, the stones themselves tell the story of the city's layers.

When you look down from the towers, old houses with red tiled roofs, slopes and, beyond them, the blocks of the modern city pile up on top of one another. This view toward Ulus, the ridges of Altındağ and the Çankaya hills in the distance explains at a glance how the capital grew. The castle is reached on foot, walking uphill from Ulus. Since there are stone steps and walls with unprotected edges, wear comfortable shoes and be careful with children.

Atakule and the Çankaya ridge

In the south of the city, on top of Çankaya, Atakule is one of the capital's symbols. Designed by the architect Ragıp Buluç, the tower was begun in 1987 and opened on 13 October 1989, the anniversary of Ankara becoming the capital. Its name was chosen through a public competition. The chosen name combines the word "ata", meaning ancestor or father in Old Turkic and also used for Atatürk, with "kule", meaning tower. The tower is 125 metres high, and since Çankaya is itself a hill, it can be seen from almost anywhere in the city on clear days.

Two glass lifts take you up to the observation terrace, where a 360-degree view of Ankara opens up. Ankara Botanical Park stretches directly below the tower; from above you can see very clearly how the park's green reaches into the city. Turning north you can pick out the direction of Kızılay and Ulus, and from there the hill on which the citadel sits. The shopping arcade at the base of the tower was demolished in 2014, rebuilt and opened in 2018; the observation level is the part that makes the tower a tower. Check current terms and fees for visiting the terrace before you go.

The new tower of the north

The Atatürk Republic Tower in Keçiören is like a northern counterpart to Atakule. An interesting detail is that both towers come from the same architect; the Republic Tower was also designed by Ragıp Buluç. The tower is 197 metres high, built of reinforced concrete and crowned with a Seljuk star. At night its lighting and LED screen system make it visible from afar.

The story of its construction is a long one. Its foundation was laid on 18 July 2003, but construction stopped for a time on the grounds that it exceeded the flight obstacle limit. After years of legal process, a zoning change in 2018 and a new tender in 2020, the tower opened on 18 March 2024. On the tower's minus-one floor is the Atatürk Republic Tower 100th Year Public Library, opened on 2 December 2024; according to Keçiören Municipality it has a collection of about 20,000 books and a reading area for 146 people. An art gallery, a science centre and a space terrace were also announced at the opening.

Before you go, be sure to get current information from the municipality on whether you can go up to the observation level; which parts of the tower are open to visitors can change over time. Even if you cannot reach the terrace, looking up from the foot of the tower and photographing it together with the city from the surrounding hills is a pleasure.

The terraces of Esertepe

Keçiören's real viewpoint is a park. Muhammed Ali Esertepe Park covers an area of 18.3 hectares between the Etlik and Esertepe neighbourhoods. The park's elevation ranges from 985 to 1,055 metres, which makes it one of the highest points in Ankara. In the early years of the Republic the area was used by the army as an open-air firing range. As the city grew and the area became surrounded by housing, this use was abandoned in 1970, and the site long stood empty. According to the project the municipality announced in 2013, the site was purchased to be turned into a recreation area along the lines of Dikmen Valley; in this district of closely packed buildings there was no other gap where green space could be opened.

The park opened to the public on 19 May 2015 and in 2016, after the death of the famous boxer Muhammad Ali, it took his name. According to Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, the park can be entered from four separate points, and each entrance has a square and gate symbolising a different Turkish state. Escalators and three diagonal lifts were built to make it easier to get around the sloping ground. The park also has a map of Türkiye with illuminated edges.

From the upper terraces of Esertepe you see the city from the north, looking south. This is the exact opposite of the view from Atakule: there you look north, here south, and if you visit both towers on the same day you will have read the city from two directions. Coming in the late afternoon and waiting for the city lights to come on is the best time to spend in the park. On winter days dress warmly against the wind; on the hilltop the weather is noticeably harsher than in the streets below.

The Keçiören cable car

Keçiören also offers, or at least offered, a chance to watch the city from a cabin. The Keçiören Cable Car is a two-station gondola line opened in 2008. The line is 1,653 metres long; it links Atatürk station in the Kavacık Subayevleri neighbourhood in the south with Cumhuriyet station in the Tepebaşı neighbourhood in the north. Sixteen cabins seating eight people each can carry about 384 people an hour, and the ride takes about twenty minutes.

The line was stopped for maintenance in September 2021, reopened in December 2022, and was temporarily closed on 22 April 2024. So before putting the cable car in your plan, be sure to find out from Keçiören Municipality whether the line is running. If it is, the cabin is the most comfortable way to watch the northern slopes of the city slowly go by.

One day, two directions

It is possible to visit all these points in one day, but tiring; splitting them into two half days is more enjoyable. Here is one suggestion: in the morning climb up to the citadel and see the roofs of the old city in the morning light. In the afternoon move to Çankaya and look at the city from the south from Atakule's terrace. The next afternoon go to Keçiören, walk around the Republic Tower, and in the late afternoon wait on the terraces of Esertepe for the sunset and the city lights.

The rail system makes transport easier. The citadel is reached on foot from Ulus. You can reach Keçiören on the M4 metro line, which runs between Kızılay and Şehitler; check the station nearest to the tower and the park, and the connecting buses, in EGO's current route information. You can also find the bus routes to Atakule in EGO's current information.

Practical notes for the view

On a clear day the city can be made out far into the distance; on hazy days the view fades quickly, so check the weather before you go. For photography, choose the hours when the sun is behind you; morning light gives better results on views facing west, and evening light on views facing east. The wind can be strong on the tower terraces and the upper levels of the parks, so bring an extra layer. Opening hours, fees and which sections are open change often; check current information for each stop on the official website of the operating institution.

From below, Ankara can look tiring with its slopes, junctions and crowds. From above, a capital emerges that is spread among hills and carries a three-thousand-year story between its citadel and its towers.

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