Pamukkale

  Randal and I went into Marmaris today to see our agent Soner to get the paperwork filed and finished for our motorbike.  Turkey won’t honor our Malaysian insurance so we have to get Turkish insurance but it will be good for 6 months.  Then we’ll be able to do some exploring around the area.  We also found a small nursery/florist and they created a beautiful bouquet of flowers that we could take to "Grandma" at the Dost Hotel as a thank you for the wonderful lentil soup.  Reception was closed, Ibrahim must have taken a well deserved day off.  We left the flowers with a young woman who may have thought they were for her, but we left a note.  Then we went across the street to the specialty food shop owned by Ibrahim’s brother and explained to him.  We also bought some wonderful, real bacon and finally some decaf coffee.  The huge Tansas supermarket had no decaf that anyone,  staff or Turkish shoppers could tell.  We had blt’s for dinner. 

Tomorrow is Bits and Bobs day.  Or something like that.  Everyone who has something to sell puts it on the back of their boat marked with prices and everyone walks around looking.  It’s a giant marina flee market.  We’ll go have a look. 

Backing up a bit, this email is about Pamukkale which was our last stop before we arrived in Marmaris.  It was one of the most unique places we’ve been since neither one of us has been to Yellowstone where I read they also have similar travertine formations.  We went early in the day so beat the crowds of tourists.  They were going up as we were coming down. 

Ru

Doramac

Pamukkale and Hierapolis

The nickname for Pamukkale is the “Cotton Castle.” I didn’t see cotton, I saw snow and would have called the “Snow Castle.”

“This remarkable natural formation has been created by mineral rich hot springs cascading down the hillside and depositing layers of calcium carbonate. The resulting pools, terraces, and “petrified waterfalls” of dazzling white travertine are one of Turkey’s most famous sights. The ruins of ancient Hierapolis lie scattered on the hillside behind the terraces adding historical interest to natural beauty.” Berlitz Pocket Guide to Istanbul

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You start walking up through the "white" and then visit the ruins up the hill.  We stayed in a hotel not far from this entrance to the park so could walk there first thing in the morning.  Each ticket was 20 lira so you wanted to give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the park and get your money’s worth.

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You have to take off your shoes to protect the formation and then you had to roll up your pants to keep them from getting wet when you walked through the pools.

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It looked like snow but was warm enough for brave souls who wore bathing suits.  The mountains in the far distance are snow covered.

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It was the best foot massage, like walking on pumice stone; so though it looked like it should be slippery, it wasn’t. There were broken pieces of stone that was hard on your bare feet at times and made me fear I’d stumble and soak my camera. On the way down I packed my camera away and missed the best photo of a man in one pool with his toddler who was pretending to wash his dad. There were more pools and a lake at the entrance to the park down in Pamukkale. The afternoon we arrived, Randal and I walked around the pond but waited until the next day to explore the park which takes all day.

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One of the staff cleaning out the pathway of the flowing water and some young men soaking in the same warm water stream.

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I don’t see cotton, I see snow!  And blue ice.

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Fields and hillsides of calcium carbonate deposits…tums!

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Water flowing down the hillside.

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I don’t really understand how it all works but it didn’t matter you just stared at it all.

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Old flows around the side of the plateau.

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Looking down on the valley and the lush farmland.

Then we walked off to see the ruins of Hierapolis; next email.