Pamuksu Thermal Boutique Pamukkale

... bells, hundreds or thousands of tiny lighted candles set adrift down Mama Ganga. Two religions, two continents, twice a time of a small quiet tear.

Outside and down a few steps lies the Arasta Bazaar, selling Turkish ceramics and carpets, and paying a percentage towards the upkeep of its neighbouring house of faith.

A small restaurant presents two musicians, who take up their positions after prayer time.

One plays something akin to a small harp, lying flat ...

... might have (we were starting to feel the onset of Ancient Ruin Fatigue).

The meta-entertainment peaked near the end of the walk when a troop of actors dressed as Roman soldiers, nobility, and entourage came out to blaring trumpets and fanfare for a 15-minute show of 30 ludicrously dressed extras, some juggling, a round of faux-gladiator combat, and ... that was it. CRAPTASTIC!

My religious scholarship is pretty elementary, but I ...

... an ancient city founded in 190 BC its monuments and ruins preserved to our days. Ephesus - well-preserved ancient city, which is one of the seven wonders of the world, the temple of Artemis. Afrodisias - famous archaeological center located near the Menderes valley, at the foot of Mount Akdag. It remained one of the largest amphitheater of ancient Rome. Karakhan - Excursion to the source of red water.
Lake Salda - a great place for practicing water sports ...

Making our way through the wind and rain of Egirdir, we eventually passed through the storm and ended up in Pamukkale. Pamukkale is known for two things - the ancient ruins of Hieropolis and the white calcium-formed pools. This calcium formaiton resembles a giant patch of ice in the middle of green hills from afar and seems like being in a different world up close. Apparently these formed when warm mineral water began running over the ...

... my stomach) and realized when I paid that I was missing the money. So I left my big bag at McDo and went back to get the money! I took my breakfast with me and walked to the bus stop. It took me a while to find the right one and a man put me on a bus, but I still had to walk from there and finally bought a bus ticket and had to wait ...

... to Hera, thw wife of Zeus, and we also visited it's adjacent nekropolis (cemetary/ city of the dead). The ruins of Herapolis really were mostly only a jumble of rocks, a few things were still standing (such as the latrines...) but all the interresting buildings didn't look too good. The theatre looked okay from afar, but I was feeling a little over heated so I ...

... downstairs.... It sent all the shoppers into overload (well all the chicks anyway) and we all couldnt decide where to start. About 1/2 hr later we were done and I walked out with a small plate and a couple of magnets that were to be gifts for friends at home. We arrived in Pamukkale just after 5pm and set off exploring the streets - making our way quickly up the hill to check out the calcium deposits covering the mountain in front of us... A ...

... up to Heirapolis and the travertines. Pamukkale means cotton castle, and that's exactly what the travertines look like. Simply amazing. White stone waterfalls. This is a World Heritage listed place and it's easy to see why. The adjacent roman city of Heirapolis, now in ruins, was built to take advantage of the healing powers that the thermal waters of Pamukkale were thought to have. Perhaps the only downside was that we had arrived at a ...

... into the packed tram (and yes, we'd already let full ones go by - there was no pacifist's choice available). Having apologised profusely to the man who saw my backpack up close and personal for an interminable 10 minutes (who apologised back for the trams being so full in his city...), we connected to our ferry, which docks neatly at the main train station, and so began a very pleasant journey south. Pamukkale is very small ...

... little). There has been a drought for some time and in order to make some of the cliffs appear beautiful they control which parts of the cliffs get water. If this makes no sense by now, be sure to check out the link below. Anyway there were still a few that looked ok and I guess it was worth going regardless. The hotel we stayed in was the best in town (at $30/night). Stacy said that ...