President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and visiting Turkic leaders opened a 645,000-square-meter park in Türkiye’s capital Ankara on Oct. 29, combining urban woodland, recreation areas and displays of shared cultural heritage.
Created by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s General Directorate of Forestry, Beştepe Nation’s Forest spans about 92 football fields. Its 203 plant species comprise 72 broadleaf tree species, 27 conifers and 104 shrubs. With 410,000 new saplings, it has about 750,000 trees and shrubs, plus 285,000 square meters of lawns.
Gardens contain eight forest fruit species, 16 medicinal and aromatic species, 19,000 lavender plants across 5,000 square meters and 10 olive trees aged 300 years. A 450-year-old oak and a 24-million-year-old fossil tree are also on display. A Türkiye map uses 44,000 saplings and a Century of Türkiye mosaic another 25,000.
The 19-kilometer route network includes a 2.2-kilometer cycle path and a 1-kilometer running track. Wooden bridges, a viewing deck and the Bayraktepe walking trail accompany a six-tier cascading pool, a 315-meter creek and a 26-step waterfall.
The Hezarfen, Barbaros and Evliya Çelebi playgrounds cover 3,410 square meters. Forest schools, including a wooden unit, two basketball courts, a football pitch, outdoor fitness and skating areas serve visitors of all ages.
Bayraktepe, Civilizations Park and the Turkic States camp contain 32 miniatures and seven Orkhon Inscription replicas. Models include Hagia Sophia, Anıtkabir, Çanakkale Martyrs’ Monument, Göbeklitepe, Selimiye Mosque and Sümela Monastery. The Organization of Turkic States camp displays eight countries’ flags, seven countries’ works and six national tents, introducing visitors to shared Turkic culture.
Grass, wooden and stone amphitheaters, cafes, natural product and book stalls, a zoo with 342 animals, four gates and three parking lots complete the site.
