Day 26 - Pamukkale

As planned this was to be quite a busy day in Pamukkale and surrounding district. We got up early to have breakfast in time to take advantage of the hotel owner's shuttle bus service to the northern gate of the Pamukkale and Hierapolis complex. The rationale behind this was simple - from the northern gate it was all downhill whereas the nearer gate in town was completely the opposite. Entering through the northern gate takes you into the ruins of the ancient Greco-Roman city of Hierapolis built on the site of thermal spas in the 2nd century BC. Impressive structures amongst the ruins include the theatre, the temple of Apollo and the Roman baths - now a museum. The city sprawled across the hillside and a number of paths take you through the ruins down to the entrance to the travertine area, an enchanting wonderland of limestone formations and terraces formed by carbonate deposition over the centuries. Pamukkale means "cotton castle" in Turkish and it is a very apt name as that is exactly what it looks and feels like. The photos give some sense of what it is like but nothing beats the real thing. At the top of the travertine slope there is a complex with spa baths and swimming pools and many folk come here just to enjoy this area alone. One of the attractions is a series of glass enclosures with "Dr fish" swimming in them. For a small charge you get to sit there for 20 minutes while the small fish nibble at your dead skin on your feet and lower legs. Needless to say I had to have a go and I must admit to feeling like I had somewhat smoother skin at the end of it. From there we proceeded downhill and spent the next two hours or so wandering through the beautiful aqua coloured limestone pools and the strange snowlike landscape. From here we wandered back through town to our hotel for lunch. With half a day still to kill after eating lunch we did the maths and decided we had time to drive to the ancient city of Aphrodisias some 70 kms away and still get back in daylight. So off we set and we were very pleased to have done so as Aphrodisias proved to be a very well preserved site with a great many largely intact structures. An hour or so wandering around here included the Temple of Aphrodite, the Odeon or theater,  the monumental gateway, and a very well preserved stadium which had been used for athletic events. Dinner was again at the hotel after our return and then we turned in after a very busy day.