TURKEY – PAMUKKALE

NOVEMBER 25 – 29, 2024

Pamukkale had been on my bucket list for over 20 years. The first time I saw a picture of this place, I thought it was fake. Now here I am!

Pamukkale means “cotton castle” in Turkish, and indeed the place looks like it is made of snow white cotton candy. It was much bigger than I thought it was going to be. It is 2,700 metres (8,860 ft) long, 600 m (1,970 ft) wide and 160 m (525 ft) high,

but only a small portion has the limestone pools.

This is how they came to be. There are 17 hot springs, supersaturated with calcium carbonate, in the area. As the water emerges from the springs and reaches the surface, carbon dioxide de-gasses from it, and the calcium carbonate is deposited as a soft gel, which eventually crystallizes into a white stone called travertine, a form of limestone. Dripping slowly down the mountainside, mineral-rich waters collect in and cascade down the mineral terraces, into pools.

We could walk out into some of the pools (no shoes or socks, please). The water was very warm where it came out of the ground, and slippery. But as we went lower, it cooled off and became less slippery.

I did not know that there was a huge archeological site on the hill above the pools.

The thermal springs have been drawing visitors since antiquity. The ancient Greek city of Hierapolis (“holy city”) was founded as a thermal spa as early as the 2nd century BC. The city of 50,000 became a healing centre where doctors used the hot springs as a treatment for their patients. Considering the size of the necropolis, I don’t think the healing waters were very successful.

A few of the tombs sat on the edge of a limestone edge, evidence of the ever changing deposits.

No great ancient city is complete without an amphitheatre. This one was huge and grand. It had a capacity of 15,000. The cavea had 50 rows of seats, divided into 7 sections.

The scaenae frons is the elaborately decorated permanent architectural background of a Roman theatre stage and resembles the facades of an imperial palace. This one was three storeys high with sculptural reliefs, displaying mythological subjects on different storeys, while dedicatory inscriptions ran along the entablatures (the upper part).

There was a museum inside the old bath house. The huge, dome ceiling made of stone were beautiful, but a bit disconcerting. How did they stay up there?

There were lots of small archeological items, as well as huge, elaborate things like this sarcophagus.

Near the limestone pools, I saw a tree with strange translucent things stuck to the side of the trunk. I realized it was amber! I tried to sneak a piece off, but it was stuck like cement to the bark.

The day was full of discoveries and satisfaction. We left with our hearts full and minds full of wonder.

We stayed in the city of Denizli, not far away. The apartment we had was modern, but there was not one square wall in the place. Look closely at the floor tiles to see what I mean.

Most of the apartments had curtains covering their balconies. I suspect it was to shade them from the sun in the summer.

We saw this cat condo on the street. There are lots of feral cats in every town. Some towns have more dogs than cats. The dogs have tags on their ears to identify that they have been vaccinated. They are friendly enough, and I never felt afraid of them, unlike the cats. I have seen people get scratched while trying to pet a cat.

Turkey makes a car that looks like crap, but apparently runs well and forever. Our host in Goreme had one and it was 20 years old.

I don’t think the Surgeon General has gotten the word out to Turks about the hazards of smoking. The cigarettes are long and thin. People still smoke in restaurants. They throw their lit butts onto the street, even though there are public ashtrays everywhere.

With Pamukkale crossed off my bucket list, it was time to move on to the next bucket list destination. Ephesus….