One of Turkey's most famous landmarks, splashed across tourist brochures and posters, Pamukkale is a marvellously surreal natural wonder that is a must-do on your Turkish travels. Rippling out in a series of semi-circular travertines, this pure-white mountain makes for some bizarrely beautiful photographic opportunities set as it is among green farming fields. Up on the summit lie the remains of the Roman spa town of Hierapolis with the renowned hot spring pools where you can do as the Roman's did and bathe away your aches and pains.
1 Travertines
The dazzling white calcite cliff of Pamukkale formed from calcium deposits left by the area's hot springs. In the same way that stalactites form within limestone caves, the deposits grow on the steep slopes and gradually fan out to form natural terraces. Pamukkale means "cotton castle" and the blinding white colour of these travertines do look like a bizarre natural fortress of sorts. You can walk (barefoot only) from the base of the calcite mountain up the entire cliff ridge. The terraces at the upper levels hold pools of water where you can sit in.
Accomodation: Where to Stay in Pamukkale - TripAdvisor.com
2 Hierapolis city ruins
First founded by King Eumenes II of Pergamon soon after 190 BC, Hierapolis was originally a fortified military colony. An earthquake destroyed the original city in AD 60, though it was after the rebuilding that the city's glory days began. Hierapolis enjoyed its greatest prosperity during the 2nd and 3rd century when, with its on-tap natural hot springs, it became an important spa centre.
The remains of a grand colonnaded street are parallel to the travertines for just over 1 km, extending between the necropolis to the north and a Byzantine church at the southern end. From the church, if you take the eastern path, you come to the Temple of Apollo and its famedPlutonium (a cave beneath the temple that was a source of poisonous gas). Here the priests would consult the oracle, bringing in birds and small animals to be killed by the rising gas. Today nothing much survives of either. East from the remnants of the Agora is the octagonalMartyrium of the Apostle Philip, built on the spot where the saint and his children were supposedly martyred after he remonstrated with the pagan-worshippers of Hierapolis.
3 Hierapolis theatre
On a slope above the rest of the Hierapolis ruins is the mighty theatre with its facade over 100 m long and incorporating two tiers of seating, each with 26 rows. Built during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Hadrian and Septimus Severus, the theatre is incredibly well preserved. It has retained much of its original detail with the imperial boxes (where VIP guests would have watched the entertainment), and some decorative panels along the stage still surviving.
4 Pamukkale Antique Pool
If you want to partake in some restorative hot pool soaking just like the Romans did, then look no further than here. Pamukkale's Antique Pool (beside the Temple of Apollo) allows you the opportunity to soothe those weary travel muscles in mineral-rich hot spring waters that are a steady 36 C. It's possibly the most atmospheric hot spring experience you'll ever have, with half-submerged columns and chunks of fallen marble scattered in the water.
5 Hieropolis Museum
Dedicated to Hieropolis, this excellent museum is set inside the former Roman bathhouse. Exhibits showcase some of the beautiful artistry of this once important city, with gorgeous reliefs, sarcophagi and statuary. There are also exhibits from nearby Afrodisias.
6 Pamukkale Castle
Pumukkale (Cotton Castle) was originally only the name of this 11th or 12th century castle, which sits just off the road leading from Pamukkale town up to the Hierapolis plateau. There are superb views of the travertines from here.
7 Laodikeia
Lovely Laodikeia was once home to Cicero. This Roman commercial centre was a bustling city of industry, medicine and trade. As Christianity began to take over from the earlier pagan religions, a large population of Christians and Jews lived here. The ruins, though sparse, are highly photogenic and there's an interesting mix of remnants from the temples and theatres of early Roman settlement to the later Christian era.
- Read More:
- Exploring Laodikeia: A Visitor's Guide
8 Aphrodisias
Modern research has transformed Aphrodisias from a place (which few tourists visited) into one of the most important historic sites in Turkey. Chalcolithic finds here show the area to have been settled in the 4th millennium BC, and artifacts of early Bronze Age pottery also suggest there was an Assyrian trading colony here during the Hittite period. The settlement's golden age though was in the Hellenistic and Roman eras when its sanctuary became the centre of the widespread Aphrodite cult and the city also became famous for its schools of sculpture, medicine and philosophy.
The Temple of Aphrodite was built approximately 100 BC and still has 14 standing columns (two with architraves in place). In the 5th century the Byzantines converted this pagan temple into a three-aisled basilica. To the north is the mammoth and well-preserved Stadium, which could hold 30,000 spectators. To the south of the temple is the buleuterion. Decorated with reliefs and statues, it is the best-preserved monument in the site.
9 Caravanserais near Pamukkale
On the road from Denizli to Dinar stands the Akhan, a Seljuk caravanserai founded in 1253 by Emir Karasungur. It has a marble-faced east facade, an arcaded courtyard and a triple-aisled winter hall. Near the town of Çardak, 55 km east of Denizli, is the Çardakhanı. This Seljuk caravanserai has two massive towers and an inscription flanked by two lions above the portal. It was endowed in 1230 by the general Rasıdeddin Iyaz.
10 Çivril
First excavated in the 1950s by Lloyd and Mellaart, the Beysesultan Tepesi archaeology site (10 km south of the provincial town of Çivril) is an important prehistoric settlement. For the Stone Age alone, 21 layers have been found within 11 m of sediment. Evidence of settlement here has been found up to the early Bronze Age (1250 BC) and again from 400 years later, up to the Byzantine era. In Layer V (1900 BC) the remains of a palace have been found, and in the Bronze Age layers traces of a shrine with sacrificial vessels, blood altar and statuettes of the goddess Cybele have been unearthed.
11 Karahayıt Hot Springs
These scorching mineral-rich hot springs (temperatures up to 55 C), bubble up from the chalk-coated rocks only 5 km west of Pamukkale. The presence of various oxides in the water (including iron oxide) has tinged the calcium carbonate of the springs with a variety of colours. Beneath the springs there is a small bathing pool where you can soak to your heart's content after a day of sightseeing.
12 Kolossai
The scanty remains of the once great Phrygian city of Kolossai lie near the Lykos River, 20 km east of Denizli. Its great age was during the Hellenistic period. By the time the Romans had taken control over the region it was increasingly overshadowed in importance by the cities ofLaodikeia and Hierapolis. Nevertheless, the city's name remained known because of St Paul's epistle to the Christian community here.
13 Sarayköy
The town of Sarayköy, at the western edge of the Hierapolis valley, is probably old Karura (or Kyorara), which lay on the border between Phrygia and Cara. It was known for its hot springs and Herophilian medical school. Herophilus was a 4th century BC doctor, considered the most important doctor of antiquity after Hippocrates.
14 Denizli
Everyone passes through Denizli on their way to Pamukkale, but few stop here. This thoroughly modern town is the provincial capital and grew into a bustling centre during the 14th century. The great medieval Arab traveller Ibn Battuta described the town as a fine commercial centre with seven mosques, baths and bazaars as well as a resident prince. Denizli was twice destroyed by earthquakes - once in the beginning of the 18th century and the second in 1899. This natural destruction has left the town with no buildings of historical interest.
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