Pamukkale

Pamukkale from a distance

My bag is packed and I'm off on holidays tomorrow evening. We fly to Istanbul for three days and then on to Bodrum. There may not be any posts here for two weeks as Blogger is banned at the moment in Turkey. I have been thinking of moving to Wordpress because of this as I will spend two months there this summer.
For someone who is not to au fait with technology I find Blogger easier to use. I'm holding off as I hope the ban will be lifted by July. In the meantime I decided to show you another of the reasons I love the country!

the travertines

Pamukkale is one of the famous sites in Turkey. It has been a spa since the Romans built the spa city  of Hierapolis. The calcium rich hot water has cascaded down the hills and formed the white travertines  as it cools. This gives rise to the name Pamukkale - Cotton Castle.

Walking on the travertines is now controlled to preserve them. Diffferent areas are opened each day

 In more recent times they built hotels on the plateau, but in the 90's these were pulled down as they were destroying the snow white travertines. The first time we visited some of the walls remained,  their wallpaper exposed to all passerbys. Today not a trace of them remain

The flow of water is now strictly controlled . This area was dry on the day we visited

The area is now a UNESCO site. On the plateau is the Sacred Pool, the ancient remains of Hierapolis and  a small archaeological museum.

The Sacred Pool.

You can still swim in the Sacred Pool, for a fee of course, you are in Turkey! The pool is littered with the remains of Roan columns from the Temple of Apollo. The water is 37C approx. In nearby Karahayit, the thermal water is 42-56C It is here the big hotels are located. The locals say the white waters of Pamukkale are for the tourists but the red waters of Karahayit are for those who come to seek a cure from the spa waters.

steam rising Karahayit

Looking for the "cure" Karahayit"

Pamukkale is surrounded by the remains of the ancient city of Heriapolis. It's amphitheatre has been very well restored and has amazing acoustics. It has a huge necropolis, obviously many of the Romans who came for the healing water never made it back home.

Hierapolis

Amphitheatre at Hierapolis

Amphitheatre Hierapolis

Part of the jigsaw remaining to be pieced together Hierapolis

Summer Flower Hierapolis

Sunset in Pamukkale