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Published: June 14th 2017
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Geo: 37.9166, 29.1126
Pamukkale is a national heritage site, where there are warm natural springs, bringing to the surface copious amounts of calcium carbonate which is deposited to form the 'cotton castle', Looking at the pure white, it is no wonder that a settlement was developed above it, using the hot waters as 'holy' waters. The ruins are just that now (obviously) however, having seen sooooo many ruins recently, it was a whirlwind stop around it, towards the main white steppes. There had been a 'tourist' trail cut into the slopes, meaning that the 100,000's of visitors had only a small area to walk on and destroy, rather than the whole park. The area had numerous pools cut into it too hillside, for people to swim in the heeling waters and make the most of the warm water. None of us had our swim stuff though, so had to make do with a paddle to the height our rolled up trousers would allow us. Well all apart from Jay, who accidentally slipped on the not quite solidified calcium deposits (was like jelly) and landed on his bum in a pool! Hilarious, although i am sure we were all very glad it was
not us! It was quite a walk down the slope to where the truck was parked, but we were all grateful that it was a long walk down, not the other way around, Of course various photos were taken along the way and a nice cold ice-cream awaited us at the cafe at the base too.
it was then off to a bush camp, high up in a mountain pass with stunning views of the surrounding area. We passed through a tiny, traditional farming village on the way, with only just enough room for the truck to fit, I am not sure the people had seen quite such a monster pass through their streets, some standing in the middle of the road to stop and stare. Helpful! At camp, the floor was covered with prickles, which meant big shoes had to go back on, we made omelets in freezer bags for dinner, which were interesting to say the least, we were then joined by a pair of young ruffians, reminding me of Mumford and sons.... armed with an acoustic guitars they serenaded us from the hillside, it was lovely, and then they just disappeared... most peculiar.
In the morning, we
ventured towards Oludeniz, but made too good a time, so stopped off for an adventure in Saklikent Gorge. To begin with, no one wanted to go in, as it cost a whole 5 TL to get in, this seemed pathetic, so myself and Em went straight to the gate, there was no way i was missing out on this famous and most stunning natural feature. There was a walkway suspended above the water to gain entrance to the gorge, and due to the time of year, and the quantity of snow melt, there was no way we were going to walk the 5km up stream in the river without either getting very wet or washed away. We did go for a paddle though and it was frigging freezing! also a little climb up the face had to be attempted too, although in bare feet it was a little painful. There were so many caves in the cliff face, the imagination went mental again, for the valley in my book! it really was a good series to start reading on this trip!
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