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Türkiye’s president and leaders of the Organization of Turkic States are set to open a sprawling forest park in the capital, Ankara, giving residents a new green space with gardens, trails, a zoo and scaled-down replicas of the country’s best-known landmarks.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the opening of Bestepe National Forest, which the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s General Directorate of Forestry created on 645,000 square meters (159 acres), roughly the size of 92 soccer fields.
The park holds about 750,000 trees and shrubs, including 410,000 newly planted saplings. It is home to 203 plant species: 72 broadleaf trees, 27 conifers and 104 shrubs. Lawns cover 285,000 square meters.
Visitors can walk through themed gardens, including a forest fruit garden with eight species and a medicinal and aromatic plant garden with 16.
A 5,000-square-meter lavender garden holds 19,000 plants, and an olive grove features 10 trees that are 300 years old.
The park also showcases natural heritage, including a 450-year-old oak designated a natural monument and an area displaying a 24-million-year-old fossilized tree.
Two large landscape designs stand out: a map of Türkiye made from 44,000 saplings and a living plant mosaic of 25,000 saplings marking the "Century of Türkiye," a government slogan for the republic’s centennial.
The park has 19 kilometers (12 miles) of paths, including a 2.2-kilometer (1.4-mile) bike lane and a 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) running track.
Wooden bridges, an observation terrace and a hilltop walking route lead to different parts of the grounds. A six-tiered cascading pool, a 315-meter (1,030-foot) stream and a 26-step waterfall provide spots to relax.
Children have three playgrounds covering 3,410 square meters, named after the Ottoman-era figures Hezarfen, Barbaros and Evliya Celebi, along with a forest school meant to teach them about nature.
Other facilities include two basketball courts, a soccer field, outdoor fitness equipment and a skate area.
A "Civilizations Park" displays miniature versions of landmarks from across Türkiye, including Hagia Sophia, Anitkabir, the Canakkale Martyrs’ Memorial, Gobeklitepe, the Selimiye Mosque and Sumela Monastery.
In all, the park’s cultural areas hold 32 miniature works and seven replicas of the Orkhon inscriptions, among the oldest known Turkic writings.
A separate area dedicated to the Organization of Turkic States features the flags of eight countries, works from seven countries and tents representing six.
The park also has grass, wooden and stone amphitheaters, cafes, and shops selling natural products and books. Its zoo is home to 342 animals. There are four entrance gates and three parking lots.
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