Travels in Turkey: Hierapolis and Pamukkale

Travels in Turkey, Part 8 of 12

Along with Cappadoccia and sights in Istanbul, I had one other place on my “must see while in Turkey” list, though at first I had thought to be two separate spots. Hierapolis and Pamukkale are two very different attractions, yet they share the same physical location….a combined natural wonder and ancient city.

We started off early from our villa in Selcuk and made the four hour drive to just outside Denizli. Driving in Turkey is not for the faint of heart, and Rob did a great job managing all the roundabouts and crazy, impatient drivers (cars start to honk at you to go *before* the light turns green!).

In the US, once you’ve paid admission to a National park, you are generally handed a guide map and expect that the “attractions” will be well marked. This is not the case in Turkey. You either need to buy a book, hire a guide, or stumble around clueless. We chose to stumble around clueless. With seven people all wanting to see different things, this presented quite a challenge.

We first stumbled across the “travertines” — Pamukkale means “Cotton Castle”. From far off, we could hear a constant whistle blowing. When we finally reached it, we could see, from the people in the travertines, that the rule was “no shoes”, yet clueless folks kept entering the area with shoes on, and the poor guard had to keep blowing his whistle and yell “No Shoes” in multiple languages until the clueless became clued in.

Pammukale

Pammukale

After traipsing around in barefeet in the sharp-edged pools of the travertines, we headed off down the path — the bus tourists don’t have time to waste, so we had the place to ourselves. The modern landscaping was absolutely gorgeous and truly underappreciated. We stopped at a little cafe where the music was blaring and the shopkeeper was reading a paper at a table under the trees — slow business. We got some drinks there before heading on towards the north gate of Hierapolis.

I hate to admit it, but Camille fell apart. She cried and cried and cried. I know she was hot (I TOLD her not to wear jeans!), but I’m sure there was more to it than that (ah, puberty…). We walked on Roman roads. We visited amazing Roman ruins and we were practically alone. I think I if I visit Italy or Greece now I will truly be disappointed, as we had this huge ancient city all to ourselves. We could touch, sit and climb Roman columns, buildings, etc. I hope that Camille, despite her crankiness, realizes that she had an amazing opportunity and can carry it with her.

Hierapolis

Chloe in Hierapolis

We made our way back to the Antique Pool, where I had thought I wanted to swim amongst ancient columns. The second we walked in, I was overwhelmed. Too many tourists, too much smoking, too much noise, too much too much. The girls, Rob and Suze did swim, but the pool was hot (97-99F I think) and suprememly crowded. Not the experience I was hoping for. My mom found a very quiet, pleasant gozleme (cheese crepe) place for me and her, and that made the stop bearable. Thanks, mom.

Ancient Columns

After the swimmers were done swimming and eating (Camille ended up with a meat sandwich and traded for my mom’s leftover gozleme — thanks again, mom), we headed out. My dad, Suze and I wandered around looking for Plutonium, but never found it (like I said, signage is poor). We made our way up to the top of the theater, where we met up with Rob and the girls. Camille said the Hierapolis theater was nicer than the one at Orange in France.

Hierapolis ampitheater

We were hot and tired when we made our way back to the van. When we opened the doors, the parking ticket flew out. The bus drivers told us not to worry. As we left the lot, the attendant quickly pulled up our van’s photo and pinpointed our entry time. Our movements here were being tracked….