Column of Julian

This Roman column in the old quarter of Ankara is traditionally said to commemorate a visit by the emperor Julian the Apostate during his campaign in the fourth century. Rising some fifteen metres, its fluted grey shaft is topped by a distinctive foliate capital and, in later times, a stork's nest that became a familiar local sight. Standing near the governor's offices and the citadel, it is one of few upstanding Roman monuments in the modern capital. Known locally as the Belkıs Minaresi, it links the city's present to its classical past.