Çamlıdere is a municipality and district of Ankara Province, Turkey. Its area is 782 km2, and its population is 8,100 (2022). It is 108 km north-west of the city of Ankara. Its elevation is 1240 m. Çamlıdere was settled by the Seljuk Turks and there are a number of Seljuk period buildings in the area. Many fossils and a petrified forest have been found in the area.

Demographics

The district of Çamlıdere experienced a rapid depopulation, especially in rural villages, like many other rural and remote areas in Central Anatolia.

Composition

There are 48 neighbourhoods in Çamlıdere District:

Çamlıdere today

This is an attractive woodland district with lakes, meadows, a deer park, a scout camp and many other places for camping, walking and picnics. In summertime Çamlıdere is busy with day-trippers from Ankara and there is a growing number of guest-houses for weekenders coming to enjoy the fresh air and open skies. The people in this rural area are typically conservative and religious in outlook. The summer festival in July features oil-wrestling, music, dance, circumcisions of boys, and pilgrimage to the tomb of Sheikh Ali Semerkandi.

Places of interest