From a Galatian Fortress to the Bekir Ağalar Mansion, Kahramankazan and Çubuk

Karalar is a village settlement of only a few hundred people, about eight kilometres from the centre of Kahramankazan. The site stretches north of the village, around the rocky mass called Asarkaya. The best plan is to leave the car somewhere safe in the village and approach the rock on foot, because there is no laid-out car park at the site. There is no entrance gate, ticket office or information panel here; you will have to find your own way.

Look first at the rock itself. The history page of Kahramankazan Municipality writes that this mass carries niches carved by human hand and that its surroundings were enclosed by walls. The same source says the rock is thought to have served as a military garrison in the classical age, and that in the Roman period it became a settlement around which plenty of pottery fragments have been found. Search for the steps cut into the stone at the foot of the rock; visible in the photographs on Commons, these steps are traces of an old path leading up to the ruins above. Do not step on the stairs or the wall remains, look at them only from the side.

It was Remzi Oğuz Arık who drew the attention of scholars to this rock in 1933. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam writes that Arık, appointed to Ankara as archaeologist of the Ministry of Education, uncovered a Galatian town with the Karalar excavation and introduced an inscription of Deiotarus to the world. A source collecting ancient inscriptions reports that the funerary inscription found at Karalar belongs to Deiotarus Philopator, son of the Galatian tetrarch Deiotarus, and dates it to between 43 and 40 BC. That is why Karalar is associated with Blucium, which Strabo names as the fortress where Deiotarus lived. The identification is not certain, however; studies such as Stephen Mitchell's 1974 article in Anatolian Studies keep debating where the Galatian forts stood. Keep this in mind as a hypothesis while you look out from the top of the rock.

Let the mounds around the rock catch your eye as well. English Wikipedia writes that the ruins of a temple and burial mounds can be seen north of the village, and Commons holds a photograph of a Galatian tumulus here. You will see illicit digging pits in some of these tumuli. After the surface surveys, Associate Professor Çiğdem Gençler Güray of Ankara University described how treasure hunters used dynamite on the site and said the damage cannot be undone. She is also the one who says there is no treasure inside the rocks or the walls. If you see a pit or a broken fragment, do not touch it and take nothing away.

The surface survey she led began in autumn 2021 and showed that Karalar was an important centre before Rome, in the Hellenistic period, with wall remains, built structures and graves. According to the researchers, this area was settled by the Tolistobogii, one of the three Galatian tribes. The team also identified small rural settlements from pottery fragments in surrounding villages such as Fethiye, Kınık and Dağyaka. From the top of the rock look south towards the Mürted Plain; all those villages lie along the edge of that flat land. The breadth of the plain explains on its own why a garrison was set on exactly this rock.

The best light for photographs is in the first hours of the morning; towards noon the rock takes a flat, hard light. There is almost no shade on the site, so a hat and water are essential in summer. The wind can be strong at the top, so keep low and stay away from the edge of the rock. An hour and a quarter is enough to see the rock, the steps and the nearest tumulus. Then return to the village and set off for the district centre, eight kilometres away, and the Satıkadın Museum.

Source: Kahramankazan Belediyesi, Kahramankazan Tarihi; DHA, Ankara'da Helenistik, Roma ve Bizans yerleşimleri; TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Remzi Oğuz Arık; Attalus, Epitaph of Deiotarus Philopator.

The Satıkadın Museum is a two-storey village house that Kahramankazan Municipality restored and turned into a museum in 2014. In front of the museum stand a bust of Satı Kadın and a memorial fountain that tells her life in sections. Before going in, read the panels of this fountain; her time as headman, her meeting with Atatürk, her years as a deputy and her last years are told there one by one. This short reading will give you a timeline while you look at the objects inside the house.

The outline of the story is as follows. According to Wikipedia, Satı Kadın was born in the village of Kazan in 1890, her real name was Hatice, and she came to be called Satı Ağa after winning a struggle against one of the village bullies over her father's inheritance. During the War of Independence she worked to supply the army, and after the alphabet reform she learned to read and write at the Nation Schools. When women were given the right to become village headmen in the autumn of 1933, she was elected headman of Kazan. In the first election after women won the right to vote and stand for parliament in 1934, she became one of the eighteen women who entered the assembly. Kahramankazan Municipality remembers her as the first peasant woman deputy; she served as deputy for Ankara from 1935 to 1939 and sat on the Agriculture Committee.

The details of her meeting with Atatürk differ between sources. Wikipedia writes that she met Atatürk in 1934 as he passed through the sub-district of Halkavun on his way to Kızılcahamam. Her grandson, speaking to Anadolu Agency, says instead that Atatürk stopped at the sub-district that same year on his way to Istanbul, and that at a moment when the villagers held back, Satı Kadın stepped forward and offered him ayran. According to the family account, when asked her age she said she was born in 1919, explaining that they had not really lived before the National Struggle began. Parliamentary records list her as Hatı Çırpan; according to her grandson, it was Atatürk who gave her this name. Ask the attendant inside about these stories; the municipality writes that museum staff inform visitors.

Inside are the objects Satı Kadın used, her clothes and items from the period. Pay particular attention to the photographs and paintings on the walls, because the road from the inside of a village house to the speaker's rostrum shows most clearly in them. According to the Anadolu Agency report, her family keeps separately the bindallı robe and belt she wore when greeting Atatürk. The same report says Satı Kadın used to lend that bindallı to young women without a trousseau to wear at their weddings. As you walk through the small rooms, notice the scale of a village house of that time; it is said that during her years in parliament she also lived in a village house in Ankara and hosted people from her village there.

When you step into the garden you will see the memorial grave. Satı Kadın died on 19 March 1956 and was buried near her house; on the back of the grave there is an inscription telling her life. Since this is a grave, stay quiet and respectful. On 5 December, the day women won the right to vote and stand for election, Kahramankazan Municipality held a commemoration in front of the monument, and the participants toured the museum house. If you come around that date, expect the museum to be busy.

Check the museum's opening days and hours with Kahramankazan Municipality before you set out. In Satıkadın Park, named after her in the district, there is also a separate monument; if you have time, you can make a short detour there too. Forty-five minutes is enough to see the house, the garden and the fountain. From here move on to Kurtboğazı, to the dam shore on the Istanbul road, for the lunch break.

Source: Kahramankazan Belediyesi, Satı Kadın Müze Evi; Anadolu Ajansı, Satıkadın'ın hatırası; Wikipedia, Hatı Çırpan ve Satıkadın Müzesi.

The third stop of the route is not a museum but a break. According to the Kahramankazan District Governorate, the Kurtboğazı Dam lies on the Istanbul road, about five kilometres from the district centre. After walking in the sun at Karalar in the morning and standing in the museum, we set aside time here to sit, eat and gather strength for the second half of the day. On this route we do not go into the building of the dam or its place in Ankara's water system; the real job here is to find a good corner on the shore.

The governorate writes that there are picnic tables, restaurants and private picnic grounds around the lake. ASKİ, on the other hand, announces that the dam catchments supplying Ankara are special protection areas and that entering the water, picnicking and lighting fires there are dangerous and forbidden. Read the two pieces of information together: eat at one of the establishments on the shore or in the laid-out picnic grounds, do not spread a meal anywhere along the shore, and do not light a fire anywhere. On weekend lunchtimes these places fill quickly, so coming on a weekday makes things easier. Take your rubbish with you; ASKİ reminds visitors that anything left in the streams or on the shore spoils the quality of the water.

Entering the water is strictly forbidden; ASKİ officials say these areas are unfit for swimming because of the clay and silt that build up on the bottom. The governorate's page mentions angling and writes that mirror carp, scaled carp and silverside live in the lake. If you want to cast a line, find out the current fishing rules in advance. A short nature walk along the shore, meanwhile, is the best way to stretch your legs after lunch.

As you walk, look at the geography around you. Kahramankazan Municipality writes that the district stands on the Akıncı Plain, and that to the north the southern spurs of the Köroğlu Mountains, which separate Central Anatolia from the Western Black Sea, make themselves felt. Look at the heights on the northern horizon; the mountains the municipality mentions lie in that direction. The dam is fed by the Bahtılı, Kınık, Pazar and Uzunöz streams. Of these names, Kınık is also the name of one of the villages where Güray's team found pottery fragments, as we heard in the morning. So during the lunch break you are sitting on the map of the morning's archaeological survey.

The plain's produce also belongs to this stop. According to the municipality, wheat, barley, chickpeas and sugar beet grow in the district, but the best known product is the plain melon. In August and September a melon market is set up under the municipality's lead. If you pass by at the end of summer, look for this melon at the roadside stalls and the market; it makes a good treat while resting at Karagöl in the evening.

An hour and a quarter is enough for lunch, a short walk on the shore and a rest. Then set off east towards the neighbouring district of Çubuk; Çubuk is Kahramankazan's eastern neighbour, and Kızılcahamam lies to its north. The Çubuk Plain you are heading for is known as the flat land where the Battle of Ankara was fought. The afternoon's museum is in the centre of Çubuk and has no car park, so plan to leave the car in a nearby street.

Source: Kahramankazan Kaymakamlığı, Kurtboğazı Barajı; Kahramankazan Belediyesi, Kahramankazan Tarihi; ASKİ, barajlara girmek tehlikeli ve yasaktır uyarısı.

The Çubuk City Museum is in the district centre, in the Bekir Ağalar Mansion, which belonged to one of the wealthy families of its time. The municipality restored the mansion in 2013 and opened it as an exhibition hall in 2015 during the International Çubuk Pickle and Culture Festival. In 2017 the Ministry of Culture and Tourism registered the building as a city museum. Wikipedia notes that the museum has no car park, so leave the car in a nearby street and come on foot.

Before going in, stop in the garden. According to the descriptions of the photographs on Commons, archaeological pieces are displayed in the garden. Çubuk Municipality's history page writes that after the Hittites the district went through the Phrygian, Galatian, Persian, Roman and Byzantine periods in turn; the Galatian layer you saw at Karalar in the morning is present here too. Ask the attendant which village the stones in the garden came from. Then look at the mansion's bay-windowed facade and find an angle from the street where you can see the whole building; the best light for photographs is the side light of the afternoon.

A further detail that adds to the mansion's importance is the year 1933. According to the Culture Portal, Atatürk stayed in this mansion when he came to the district that year. The story you heard in the morning at the Satıkadın Museum happened a year later; the museums of the two districts keep two separate visits of the same period. Raise this with the attendant as a topic of conversation, since local accounts are rich in such details.

Inside, the centrepiece of the visit is the panorama of the Battle of Ankara of 1402. To build the battle in your head first, know this: according to Wikipedia, the battle was fought on 20 or 28 July 1402 on the Çubuk Plain between the Ottomans and the Timurid Empire. The Ottoman sultan Bayezid I was taken prisoner, and the state entered a period without a ruler that lasted eleven years. As you stand in front of the panorama, picture the Ottoman army with its front facing south of the village of Melikşah, and Timur camping on the plain of the Çubuk Stream. The location of the battlefield is not undisputed either; some researchers have proposed the village of Culuk in Haymana, but the widely held view is the Çubuk Plain.

Çubuk Municipality writes that many of the district's villages take their names from this battle. Okçular bears this name because it was used as the headquarters of Bayezid's archer units. According to the municipality, Bayezid was captured on a hill in the Mahmutoğlan neighbourhood after his horse stumbled and he fell. The name of the village of Kışlacık is also said to come from Bayezid's soldiers setting up barracks there; Karagöl, the last stop of the day, lies within that village's boundaries. Looking for these place names in the panorama lets you read the museum like a map.

The other rooms display models showing life in the district in the 1900s and historic objects gathered partly by purchase and partly by donation. In the models, look at the household arrangement, the farming tools and the clothes. The municipality's history writes that many Oghuz tribes settled in Çubuk in the 16th century, and that village names such as Alayundlu, Çavundurlu, Eymür and Kınık come from these tribes. Remember these names, as they still live on in the names of the district's neighbourhoods.

Check the museum's opening days and hours with Çubuk Municipality before setting out. An hour is enough for the rooms, the garden and the facade. If you come on a Thursday, according to the municipality a local produce market is set up in the district together with the public market; you will find flatbread, butter, cheese, sour cherries and quinces. In the centre there is also a registered mud-brick building known as the Wooden Minaret Mosque because its minaret is made of wood; a short walk is enough to look at its architecture from outside. Then set off northwest towards Karagöl, about twenty-eight kilometres away.

Source: Kültür Portalı, Çubuk Şehir Müzesi; Çubuk Belediyesi, Tarihi Yerler ve Tarihçe; Wikipedia, Ankara Muharebesi ve Çubuk Şehir Müzesi.

The last stop of the day is Karagöl, between Çubuk and Kızılcahamam, at the foot of Kavak Mountain and Yıldırım Mountain. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the nature park is twenty-eight kilometres from Çubuk and sixty-eight kilometres from Ankara. The road leaves Çubuk and climbs northwest, and the lake lies 1630 metres above sea level. Because of this height it is noticeably cooler here than on the plain in the late afternoon; put on your warm layer before you get out of the car.

We set this stop aside less for the lake itself than for the forest around it. Wikipedia writes that Karagöl lies on the northwestern edge of the Irano-Turanian floristic region and that some species of the Euro-Siberian region, which spreads further north, also grow here. As you walk the shore path, look for aspen, hornbeam and Caucasian lime. Several kinds of maple, hazel and whitebeams are also among the genera forming the dense forest around the lake. Black pine and Scots pine, meanwhile, are thick on the slopes. The Çubuk District Governorate links this mixture to the transition between the continental climate of Central Anatolia and the humid climate of the Black Sea, and writes that even hazel trees are found among the oaks and pines.

The difference between the dry steppe plain you saw at Kurtboğazı during the day and this forest is the most striking contrast of the route. Look closely at the leaves of the trees, and if it is an autumn day, look at the colour of the maples. Çubuk Municipality writes that there are springs in the forests by the lake and that the water emerging from between the rocks is very cold. According to the municipality, it is also possible to come across wild animals in the wooded areas; walk quietly and do not feed them.

The battle you heard about in the museum meets you here as well. Çubuk Municipality says that in 1402 Bayezid's armies camped here and met their need for water; Karagöl lies within the boundaries of Kışlacık, the village said to take its name from that army's barracks. The municipality also writes that there used to be a hotel at the lake, that national teams held training camps here, and that the hotel, later neglected, was demolished. Keep this story in mind as you walk along the lake shore.

In the nature park, picnicking, nature walks, climbing, watching flora and fauna, enjoying the view and sport angling can be done in a controlled way. At the entrance there are a guard house, toilets, an entrance booth, a car park and a country restaurant; the park is run by the Metropolitan Municipality of Ankara. In a basin like this, do not enter the water and leave nothing behind on the shore. According to the ministry, the annual number of visitors is around one hundred thousand, and the park fills with picnickers especially at weekends.

As you close the day, think about the path of the water. According to the Çubuk District Governorate, part of the water leaving Karagöl joins the Ova Stream, which irrigates the Mürted Plain. Mürted is the old name of the Kahramankazan plain you looked at from the Karalar rock in the morning. So this evening you are standing at the head of the water that feeds the plain where the day began. An hour and a half is enough for a round on the shore and a short walk in the forest. Return to Ankara via Çubuk before dark; driving the mountain road at night can be tiring.

Source: Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı 9. Bölge Müdürlüğü, Çubuk Karagöl Tabiat Parkı; Çubuk Kaymakamlığı, Karagöl; Çubuk Belediyesi, Gezilecek Yerler; Wikipedia, Karagöl (Çubuk).