Atatürk Boulevard ( tr, Atatürk Bulvarı) is the most important avenue in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Geography

The boulevard runs about in the south to north direction. At the southernmost point it intersects with Çankaya Boulevard and at the northernmost point it merges to Çankırı Street. Its width is about .

History

After the Turkish Republic was proclaimed, Ankara was redesigned by a group of urban planners including

Hermann Jansen Hermann Jansen (28 May 1869 in Aachen – 20 February 1945 in Berlin) was a German architect, urban planner and university educator. Early life, study and work Hermann Jansen was born in 1869, the son of the pastry chef Francis Jansen and his wif ...

. Atatürk Boulevard was developed after this planning. But according to

Falih Rıfkı Atay Falih Rıfkı Atay (1894– 20 March 1971) was a Turkish people, Turkish journalist, writer and politician between 1923 and 1950. Biography Falih Rıfkı was the son of Halil Hilmi Efendi, an imam. He was educated in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. Fa ...

, the original plan was implemented after much alterations.

The squares on the boulevard

Beginning from the south the first big square is to the west of Kuğulu Park a small but a popular public park known for its swan lake. The second square is on the intersection with Eskişehir Boulevard which leads to ringroad around Ankara. Both squares have underpasses to ease the traffic flow.

Kızılay Square July 15 Kızılay National Will Square ( tr, 15 Temmuz Kızılay Millî İrade Meydanı), originally Kızılay Square (''Kızılay Meydanı''), is one of the most important centers and junction points of Ankara, Turkey. Geography The square at ...

is usually considered to be the center of Ankara. It is also the terminus of Ankara subway line from the north and also the middle station of

Ankaray Ankaray, designated as the A1, is a long rapid transit line of the Ankara Metro system in Ankara, Turkey. Opened in 1996, it is the oldest rapid transit line in Ankara and the second oldest in Turkey after the M1 line of the Istanbul Metro. Ank ...

(lighter version of subway). Zafer Square is known by a statue of Atatürk. Sıhhiye Square is one of the busiest transportation points of Ankara with buses, subway and train. The Hitit Anıtı (Hittite Monument) is also in Sıhhiye Square. Northern still are the İtfaiye Square and

Ulus Square Ulus Square ( tr, Ulus Meydanı) is a square in Ankara, Turkey. "''Ulus''" is the Turkish word for "Nation". Geography The square is actually a crossroad of four streets at about . The boulevard to south is Atatürk Boulevard and the street to ...

. In Ulus Square there is a Monument of Victory, with Atatürk as its centerpiece.

Main buildings

In the southern half of the boulevard there are many embassy buildings.

Turkish parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives ...

is to the west of the boulevard. The main buildings of most of the ministries are on the boulevard. Some of these buildings were designed by the Austrian architect

Clemens Holzmeister Clemens Holzmeister (27 March 1886 – 12 June 1983) was a prominent Austrian architect and stage designer of the early twentieth century. The Austrian Academy of Fine Arts listed his life's work as containing 673 projects. He was the father of ...

Çankaya municipality page
/ref> Some ministries are now housed in newer buildings on the Eskişehir Boulevard, while others are still housed in the old buildings. This neighborhood of Ankara is known as ''Bakanlıklar'' ("Ministries"). Ankara Radio building of

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio ...

is to the east of the boulevard.

Ankara Opera House Ankara Opera House ( tr, Opera Sahnesi) of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet is the largest of the three venues for opera and ballet in Ankara, Turkey, the other two being ''Leyla Gencer Sahnesi'' in Ostim and ''Operet Sahnesi'' (Operetta Thea ...

and

Gençlik Parkı Gençlik Parkı (literally ''Youth Park'') is a public park in Ankara, Turkey. Geography The park is almost at the center of Ankara. Its altitude is about , which makes it one of the lowest points in Ankara. It is surrounded by Ulus Square to ...

, the biggest park in the urban fabric of Ankara, is on the west of the boulevard.

References

External links

Atatürk Boulevard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ataturk Boulevard Streets in Ankara Transportation in Ankara

Boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may b ...