Ayaş, Ankara Ayaş, Ankara Ayaş is a town and district of Ankara Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, 58 km from the city of Ankara which is very rich for historical monuments. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 21,239 of which 7,839 live in the urban center of Ayaş. The district covers an area of , and the average elevation is . The district is known for its mulberry trees, its tasty tomatoes and its healing mineral water spas, both for drinking and bathing. There is an annual mulberry festival in the town of Ayaş. The town
History of Ankara form of "Ankara". In 278 BC, the city, along with the rest of central Anatolia, was occupied by the Celtic speaking Galatians, who were the first to make Ankara one of their main tribal centres, the headquarters of the Tectosage tribe. Other centres were Pessinos, modern Balhisar, for the Trocmi tribe; and "Tavium", to the east of Ankara, for the Tolstibogii tribe. The city was then known as Ancyra. The Celtic element was probably relatively small in numbers; a warrior aristocracy which ruled over Phrygian-speaking peasants. However, the Celtic language continued to spoken in Galatia for many centuries. At the