We are very impressed with the road system in Turkey, sometimes 2 but mostly 3 lane motorways with upper speeds of 120 km/hr. As we were going through an urban area most of the way, the upper speed today was 90 km/hr.
About 30 kilometres from Pamukkale, we entered a single lane road through the fertile rural areas. Pamukkale is quite a small rural town, surviving I am sure on the tourist trade because of the Cotton Castle, the travertine pools and the Hieropolis ruins. We arrived at around 13:00, and on checking in, discussed our options with the manager. We decided to rest this afternoon and get up early tomorrow to beat the crowds and the heat to visit the thermal pools. There is around 2 weeks of Turkish school holidays remaining, so there are still lots of people visiting this area.
Afternoon short walk through the town, a swim in the pool at our hotel, early dinner and early to bed.
Following the advice of our hotel manager, we ordered a 6:30 breakfast so we could get to the South Gate of Pamukkale to beat the rush. There are also balloons here, not as many as Cappadocia, but still 30 or more. Last night we were offered a ride in one for 50 Euro, about a fifth of the price of those in Cappadocia. As we wre leaving our hotel we watched a few of them flying over us.
We got there at 7:10, waited at the ticket office while the relatively short line took ages to be processed. Only 6 bus loads of tourists went throught the gate while we were waiting. I don't think the staff were slow, I think it was a problem with the credit card payments going through .. it must have been a dial up connection !
Anyway, we were in at 7:30, first stop the Travertine Pools, we had been looking forward to this after seeing numerous photos online of the pools, what a disappointment - the top pools were dry, and there were only a series of descending pools with water in. The feature photo at the top of this post is what you see online ... below is the reality ! Nevertheless we took our shoes and socks off and went for a paddle through these pools as it was the less crowded it was ever going to be.
Next stop was the museum with impressive displays of artifacts recovered from the ancient Heriopolis site which adjoins and is part of our entry ticket into the area. Having been to Ephesus these were ok, but not jaw dropping !
Onto the Antique Pool (also known as Cleopatra's Pool), we had to pay an extra 200 TKL each to swim in the warm thermal pool, and sat on submerged Roman columns for 1.25 hours. There was a sign nearby promising cures for cardiovascular, rheumatic and skin diseases. Drinking the bicarbonate and calcium waters also offered a cure for practically everything...Tania was helping for the osteoporosis cure but was reluctant to drink straight from the pool !! Probably the highlight of our visit ! Most of the time spent people watching ! Oh - the body shapes and sizes ... some good ... some bad !!( no cameras allowed in poole so no photos of us in there !)
Out of the pool and time to explore the ruins of ancient Heriopolis, which is spread over quite a large area, so lots of walking in the heat and reading signs. There is an impressive theatre complex that has been partly restored, and a Plutonium which was the entry to the underworld !
As we wandered around, we are still amazed at the skills of the people in those times, considering we are talking 2-3 centuries BC- 4-6 centuries AD. Between heaving and aligning huge stones, erecting columns and plinths in relative alignments, down to producing fine pottery and jewellery. Throw in baths, latrines, drainage sytems, running water, both hot and cold, and these ancient civilisations were so far advanced (compare Australian indigenous people) it is hard to comprehend.
Even though we were underwhelmed by our visit to the Pamukkale / Heriopolis site, we spent 6.5 hours there !! Perhaps because of the size of the site. We were glad we made it an earlier start as it gets crazy busy and hotter as the day goes on...most probably in the early to mid 30s.
Back to Pamukkale town for a coffee, then back to the hotel for a refreshing swim in the pool.
Update blog, into town for dinner and only 2 days left in Turkey !
Am I glad I took jays advice and gave it a miss saved me heaps.
He said the hotel they built there is the problem. They use the water first and flush the rest into the pans. I would be checking your toes daily for funny growths if I wS u
I don’t think there is a hotel up there, someone said it was the road system they built, interrupted the water flow. Hopefully the huge increase in admission fees are going toward rectifying the problem.
Ah the irony of it all.
I also dislike visiting sites when too many tourists abound.
Yet, to others, you two are part of the tourist horde.
I guess that’s the downside of travelling in peak holiday season.
I imagine though there are many upsides as well – often, out of holiday season, many places are either closed or in maintenance staff only.