Pammukale

Back through the mountains with a stop at Termessos. The car park was deserted, so we stayed back while M&C went to explore the ruins.

Another drive through the Taurus Mountains and we finally made it to Pammukale. What a strange experience! The tourist trade has died out so completely that the hotel owners chased us down the streets offering their rooms at bargain rates. After a check though the entire town, we settled on a 5M lire hotel, dumped our bags and headed for the site.

The ruins of Hierapolis were wonderful. A ruined Byzantine church, Temple of Apollo, Roman Theatre and colonnaded street.

The calcium pools were another story. The site is formations of white calcium- that have filled with warm, calcium rich mineral water. Since the travertines have been damaged by tourists, the only access to the pools is a small area where you can take your shoes off and walk in the waters. It was everything we expected- one of those sites you have to see, but not a memorable one.

Dinner was in Pammukale town at one of the local dives where we met a very strange bus driver who kept asking us why Americans don’t come to Turkey…. The night was a horror with dive-bombing mosquitoes.