ABSTRACT
Country and town are intermingled in the capital which Ataturk chose in the heart of Anatolia. Its historic fame is due as much to past battles as to its animal husbandry, through which ‘Angora’ became a mark of quality. Around the conical old town of Ankara, topped by the citadel and its twin hill nearby, along wide boulevards from which small streets branch off, lies the capital of the new Turkey. Thirty years ago the government buildings were still mostly confined to the foot of the hill, while the diplomatic quarter seemed somewhat lost, a long way outside along the continuation of the Ataturk Boulevard. In order to put a stop to deforestation, the Turkish constitution envisages a resettlement of peasants from the wooded areas—a drastic expedient which is also being used to fight smuggling on the Syrian frontier.
