Sorry to hear of Sundizsno's bad digestive experience. I drank the water all over in Turkey will no ill effect but did get waylaid, along with thousands of other native Turks, by a deadly dysentery outbreak in eastern Turkey. Ankara is not nearly as interesting as Istanbul or Izmir and most of the people who go there do so for business or government related reasons. The hot spot of town is Kizilay (which means red moon) in downtown Ankara. This is where all the good nightclubs and fashionable shopping centers are located and is crowded with people at all hours. It is also very close to the US embassy in case you get into trouble. Ankara also has the best museum in the world of ancient Hittite and Phrygian artifacts. There are also some Assyrian and Paleolithic items on display as well. Everything is in English and the museum itself is very pretty. Take a cab to get there unless you don't mind trudging up one of Ankara's steep hills. There are many souvenir stores located near the museum with outrageous prices. All the owners speak English but they will rip you off if they know you're a foreigner. The ancient Hittite city of Hattasus is about seventy miles east of Ankara for those who are really interested. The drive is fairly pretty with low mountains giving way to desolate red-soiled rolling hills interspersed with increasingly smaller and more primitive looking villages. Ankara can be fun for a day or two, but there are many interesting places to see in Turkey. However, for those with a strong interest in Hittite culture, this is a good place to start exploring.

My one trip to Ankara was highlighted (or lowlighted might be a better description) by a roaring case of Ataturk's Revenge. When they tell Americans not to drink the water, or to eat salad or anything else washed in water from the tap, believe it - to ingnore that advice will get you some nasty microbes that really play havoc with your digestive system. Fortunately, there are some really cheap pills available on the local economy that remedy the situation fairly quickly. Other than that, Ankara is a so-so city. There are a couple of tourist attractions, and neat ocal wares available, but traffic is horrendous. Hotel I stayed at was good (but that's where I made the mnistake of brushing my teeth with the tap water, which resulted in...). Turkish food was good, and service was incomparable. Ankara for me was a case of Once is enough (that was back in about 1992).