Pamukkale literally means "Cotton Castle" in Turkish. It is a natural site where hot springs rich in minerals leaves behind pristine-white travertines. We also visited the ancient city of Hierapolis, which was built at the summit of the cloud-shaped travertines. It seems that even the Romans were interested in the medicinal properties of the hot springs. The ruins include a huge bathing complex. Also, Hierapolis is one of the Roman cities mentioned by name in the Bible, so it is also a stop on Bible tour groups, which are becoming more and more popular. We ran into a group of Evangelicals from New Zealand, of all places. They were really nice! Enjoy the photos:
This is me posed in front of the travertines. Sadly they are not what they used to be. Tourism pushed the site to the brink of destruction. In the 50s hotels were built on the top of the hill, choking the source of the springs, and motor bikes were allowed to go up and down the slopes. People tromping up and down the shallow pools in their shoes also wore away the calcium deposits. When Pamukkale was declared a World Heritage site, the hotels were demolished and wearing shoes on the white travertines became forbidden. The new administration also restricts access to certain parts of the site to give the travertines time to build up their deposits once more. When we were there it looked like the site was on the road to recovery, but it still has a long way to go.
This is one of the channels of water from the hot springs. The mineral-rich water has created this moon-like landscape over thousands of years. The minerals in the water makes your feel kind of slimy, but apparently it is good for you!
A view of the terraced pools of water, with the ancient ruins at the top of the hill. This area was closed off to tourists to let the limestone reestablish itself.
These are the ruined ancient baths, fed by the hot springs. Today it is a tourist attraction and you can still swim in the pools.
Near the ancient theater at Hierapolis are the marble blocks that once dedicated the interior and the exterior. Here Cat, Ceylan and I decided to try our hand at imitating the theater masks!
This was last spring, and that time of year the ruins were covered with red poppies. Cat took some really lovely pictures of the flowers with the ruins in the background. Here you can see the arches of the ancient theater.
Ceylan and I take a break inside the theater, just like spectators did 2000 years ago.
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