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Published: October 30th 2010
Us on the walk up the travertine
It was nicer on the feet when we were able to bathe them in the hot water. Judy found some bits rough on her feet!Friday 29th October 2010
Yesterday was a day of travel, over 200kms to Pamukkale. We didn't leave until about 11am as we had to wait for the washing machine to finish 2 loads of washing, we not wanting to leave our hosts with the job of cleaning up after us. We cleaned the house thoroughly yesterday, this being relatively easy as it was so clean when we arrived. A final mop of the tiled floors as we walked out and we were off.
The first 20 or so kilometres were taken very easily, Rags getting used to the car and driving on the right. It didn't take long but he has to think twice when turning to make sure he stays on his side of the road. The road passed through many rural properties, olive & citrus trees in abundance. The terrain then started upwards into the mountains and the vegetation changed to pine trees, we continuing for many kilometres of just these. After ascending for some time we made a stop to take in the views and to take a few photos. We could see for some distance and not see any sign of habitation.
By about
2pm hunger pangs made us stop at a service station/cafe, they serving up tasty dishes of liver, eggplant, rice, with the complimentary salad and bread. A glass of over-brewed tea was also provided, two replete and satisfied customers continuing their journey.
The weather had started to turn and we found ourselves in the middle of a low cloud with light rain along a section of road which was being rebuilt. The speed limit was 30kph, we did 60, and were passed by car after car. The cloud thickened and visibility was cut to less than 50m, we now being very careful where we were going as we knew a T junction was ahead. Luckily we had our GPS, this at least told us we were on the right track. That was until it told us to do a left turn, on which we found ourselves on a dirt intersection leading to a dead-end. We retraced our steps, then continued on behind a bus. The cloud got thicker, the bus disappeared, we finding ourselves in the middle of a round about and road machinery, and cars which seemed to know where they were going. We tacked onto the tail-lights of
a car in front and after a few kilometres the cloud thinned and we could see where we were.
We found the Dort Mevsin (Four Seasons) hotel, it being well signposted and we had directions from a friendly local who tried, unsuccessfully, to sell us a guide book to Pamukkale. The hotel is pretty basic but the room was warm and we were freezing! At 35 euros for 2 nights including breakfast we couldn't really expect much better. TripAdvisor.com gives the place a good write up, the meals are lauded although we weren't that impressed. They were ok though and the owners' friendliness makes up for a lot.
Saturday 30th October 2010
Even though the pillows were as hard as we remembered them from our last visit to Turkey we slept reasonably well, Judy substituting her pillow for her blow-up neck pillow she uses on the plane. We had met the Australian couple who were in the adjoining room, last night. Roger, an ex-Pom, and his Chinese -born wife Irene, had experienced a busy day yesterday and had an early night. Because of that they awoke early and their movement ensured we awoke about
6am also.
Just before 8am we went for a walk through the town towards the travertines. These unique shelves and pools lie on the side of the mountain overlooking the town and were created as the calcium carbonate, rich water cascaded over the cliff edge, cooled, and deposited calcium. The Romans built a large spa city, Hierapolis, to take advantage of the warm, curative waters.
We returned here, after a Turkish breakfast of tomato, cucumber, olives, cheese, polony, and bread, at about 11am and commenced the long climb up to where it begins. Just after the entry gate we had to take off our shoes before being allowed to continue, this to protect the fragile surface. When we were here in 2002 you could walk through the pools of warm water and just about go wherever you wished. Since then, the crowds have increased and the calcium was being damaged, contamination turning it black. The area is now a reserve, most of the waters have been redirected to allow the calcium to be exposed to the sun so that it is bleached to a white colour again. Crowds are now well controlled and it appears as if most
of the calcium has recovered.
Above the travertines and back inland are the ruins of the city which was built by the Romans in 190 BC. Much of it has been excavated by Italian archeologists over the years, the Italians also restoring many parts. We walked through some of the cobbled streets, markets, looked into the ancient public latrines which had flushing toilets even then, marveled at the drainage system which ran along, under the roads and was then stored. How they moved such large pieces of marble, let alone carved and shaped them, was beyond us.
The highlight of it all was the Roman Theatre,capable of seating over 12 000 people. This has been partly restored and the lower section was covered in scaffold. We have now seen several ancient theatres such as this on our travels but none match the magnificence of this one.
We returned to the town via a track which ran down the far side of the travertines, Judy a little worried that we couldn't get out that way, Rags determined to because it saved a long walk. Luckily, the gate at the end was unlocked - 'he who dares' ?
This goose kept following us!
As Judy Smythe says it's not a goose it's a Muscovy duck! We had a delicious Turkish lunch at Mehmet's Heaven Cafe where we could sit looking up at the area we had just been. We had a potato,cheese & spinach pancake, followed by a grilled bass and chips. A tasty meal completed with a serve of baklava.
As the morning had been all fun we spent the rest of the afternoon either working on the blog or uni work. WiFi is wonderful.
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Judy Smyth
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Goosy Gander
Me thinks the Goose is a Muscovy Duck!! Keep pup the good work.