Pamukkale, Fethiye and Olympos

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The weather in Turkey has been fabulous - the sun has been shining and most days there has not been a cloud in the sky. We headed to the fabulous town of Pamukkale. The name means Cotton Castle which reflects the breathtaking view of the site. Even from a distance, the white travertines looked spectacular. In spring the water is 35.6 degrees and contains high levels of concentrated calcium hydroxide. As the water cools it cascades over the cliff edge and deposits calcium creating stalactites and potholes containing glorious blue water. We had to take our shoes and socks off to walk on the calcium so that it did not discolour. The calcium was difficult to walk on - a little hard on the feet but the water that flowed down the travertines was warm with a nice soft silt bottom. At the top is a splendid view over the travertines, Pamukkale and the valley below. The scenery was truly spectacular and unlike anything we have ever seen before.

There is a large ruin at the top called Hierapolis. Hierapolis was founded in 190BC and is a mix of Roman, Jewish and Christian. It was founded as a cure centre but after one too many earthquakes and in particular a major one on 1334, the locals moved away. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the ruins and waited for the sun to set over the pools for the perfect sunset shot but it was really cold by the time we walked down back through the cascading water to the bottom.

Our next stop was Fethiye, a beautiful little seaside resort. Throughout Fethiye are stone sarcophagi and they just build around it - there are some in the middle of roundabouts, some in private gardens and other in the middle of the streets. Behind the town is the Tomb of Amyntas, a temple carved into the rock face dating from 350BC. We headed up that way and then walked up to the tower of a ruined Crusader Fortress built by the knights of St John. There was a great view from the top over the city and the bay.

Something more unusual - over a loud speaker they announce when someone has died or when they need blood donors and apparently locals with the same blood type all rush to the hospital!

We headed out to Kayakoy which is a ghost town about 30 minutes away by minibus. The area is completely deserted leaving 2000 or so stone houses. After WW1 and the Turkish War of Independence there was a population exchange supervised by the League of Nations, with most Greek Muslims coming from Greece to Turkey and most Ottoman Christians moving to Greece. As there were far more Ottoman Greeks than Greek Muslims, many of the Turkish towns were left unoccupied after the exchange. We walked to the top hill for the most incredible view of the coast and to the other side, the fertile valley. The weather was perfect and the wild daises and gladiolas were growing in the ruins.

For dinner we headed out for a group meal to an area where you choose your own fish from the fish market, where it is cleaned and then you ferry the fish to your chosen restaurant where they will then cook it for you with a salad, chips and garlic bread. A very different way to dine!

We headed to Olympos for yet more ruins. At Olympos we stayed in tree houses - not tree houses as we know them, just huts made out of wood! It was quite a cute place with camp fires and bedouin type set up, although overnight in the hut it was only 4 degrees! Matt headed out to Chimaera - a cluster of flames that blaze spontaneously from the crevices on the rocky slopes of Mt Olympos. The gas seeps from the earth and bursts into flame on contact with the air. It was quite a bizarre sight.

The ruins of Olympos were interesting - the history surrounding Olympos is unclear, but they do know that it was an important Lycian city by the 2nd century BC but it went into decline by the 1st century. Things improved with the arrival of the Romans but pirate attacks led to its downfall and by the 15th century it had been abandoned.

The best aspect about the area was the beach. It was a stunning day and the water was beautifully clear and blue, although the water was a little cold. It was the perfect place to relax.

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Comments

[Anu]

This one is crazy good !! :) feel like stealing it !...we r on our way to turkey next month, hope to catch this shot ! :) bye