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Published: July 21st 2009
“Not all those who wander are lost.” - J. R. R. Tolkien
Pamukkale (Cotton Castle) contains natural travertine shelves and pools with cascading calcium rich water. The Romans took advantage of the waters' curative powers and built the city of Hierapolis nearby, which remains surprisingly intact. We decided to have a look-see, 1) to avoid paying to see Ephesus, which is another Roman city on the Aegean coast and 2) to see a natural phenomenon that may not exist anywhere else. We made our way to the travertines and took off our shoes (there's a lot of shoe removal in this country) while simultaneously trying to block our view of the Russians wearing extra tight Speedos. The ridges are slightly painful on bare feet but offer a surprising amount of grip. After swimming in the pools for a bit we made our way to Hierapolis to take in the ruins. While not as impressive as Ephesus or Palentine Hill in Rome, there is still a large amount of stuff to see that kept us and our camera fingers happy for hours. There is also a natural or man made pool (we're not sure which) where you can swim
with Roman ruins, including pillars and mosaics. If the pool is man made I would imagine archaeologists would scream bloody murder, but it makes for some good photography. It's expensive to swim but costs nothing to look.
***TIPS FOR TRAVELERS***
-Go later in the day to avoid the heat and the crowd. The time around sunset is stunning and very quiet.
-The entry ticket is good for a single entry only. The ticket cost 20YTL and covers both sites. The pool at the Roman bath is not included and costs a whopping 23 YTL for a 2 hour swim. You can however enter the complex free of charge and take pictures of those privileged few that can afford to swim.
-The Kale Hotel is cheap, close to the travertines, but may or may not have their pool filled. If they don't though they will arrange for you to swim at a nearby hotel's pool for no charge.
-Another option for beating the heat is the public pools just East on the same access road you walk on to get to the travertines and you'll see it on a side road to the South. It costs 7 YTL to get in but one of the pools is a clever recreation of the travertines above and early in the day you can have the place all to yourself even in summer.
-Pamukkale Express and Metro are good bus companıes. They have the best prices. The price from Istanbul to Denzili is 45 to 55 YTL. Buses serve drinks and snacks, but there are no toiets on any Turkish companies, so hıt the toilet before you hit the road. They stop every few hours but it is a pay-per-pee system.
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Gina
non-member comment
Very Nice
WOW! Looks so nice out there! I hope that you both are doing well...you look great and tanned! Take care and we will Skype sometime next week when you are settled in at your new location!!