turkey; pamukkale & heirapolis

{Thursday October 31st} 

We got up around 7:30 again this morning and got ready for the day. We had a slightly different breakfast this morning.. Same basics but we also had an egg and vegetable casserole.

We left our hotel around 9 and headed towards Pamukkale.  This morning we started with a Turkish language lesson. The English language belongs to the Europe-indo language group. The Turkish language belongs to the Altaic group of languages.  English is an inflectional language meaning we have root words, with exceptions (for example stood; root word stand is not found within stood).  Turkish is an aglotinitive language meaning you have a root word and then many suffixes (for example root word eye, plus one suffix is glasses, plus two suffixes is optometrist - no exceptions)

After about an hour and a half, we stopped at a gas station with a store for a bathroom break. I bought some really nice lotion with olive oil in it (smells amazing!) and got some chocolate for the road. 

Along the way we saw many fields, including cotton, fig trees, pomegranate trees, some corn and olive groves. 

Ruins at Heirapolis

Heirapolis/Pamukkale was established is 400bc.  It is a highly seismic area, therefore many of the buildings are very damaged. This city has the largest city of the dead in Asia Minor. There are three main types of tombs, circular tombs, group tombs (regular), house style tombs. Many sickly people came to Heirapolis because the thermal waters were said to cure heart disease, skin disease and bad blood pressure. 

Along the road we passed by what remains of the ruins of the church of laodicea (another one of the seven churches)

Pamukkale

Shortly afterwards, we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant. There were a few bus loads there at the same time. I had a chicken kabob which was very good. 

A little while further down the road, we stopped at a textile store (clothing and linens). It was supposed to be a half hour stop but as per usual the half hour turned into forty minutes. It's starting to weigh on my patience, especially when it cuts into our time at the sights that are genuinely interesting. I suppose that is the downfall of group tours; I am not the only one getting annoyed though so hopefully someone else can speak up! 

Travertines at Pamukkale

We had a short drive again into Pamukkale, where we visited the hot spring travertines and the ancient city of Heirapolis.  It was quite a sight to see the hillside where the calcium buildup has carved out travertines with the natural hot spring water. We got our tickets and Dr. T showed us the meeting spot and then we were free to explore for an hour and a half. It was a lot to take in in a short time so I'm glad we had what time we did. We started with a brisk walk around the extensive grounds of the ruins, seeing some tombs, the theatre and the agora. Afterwards, we went over to the travertines and walked through a few of the levels. It was nice and warm and left my skin feeling really nice. The water felt amazing and the landscape was incredible, looking over the many travertines out over the town. I am very glad that we had the opportunity to see it; it was a gorgeous sunset as well. 

Sunset at Pamukkale

Around 6 we headed towards our hotel. It was about a twenty minute drive until we arrived.  Our room is a bit nicer than last night for sure. We went for a walk around the hotel and saw where the thermal pools are. 

We had another buffet dinner at 7pm, with much more selection than last night, but the hot food is still cold.  I don't think i will ever get used to cold cooked vegetables.

After dinner we went to the thermal pools where we were required to wear bathing caps. It's a good look. The pools are 36 degrees and there were a couple small cascades that you could sit under with the water falling on your shoulders. It was very relaxing. 

Afterwards we headed back to the room to get ready for bed.  When I tried to plug in my phone to charge it, i couldn't get any of the plugs to work so a technician came and looked at it but it turns out it's the cord from my iPhone to the USB that is not working. Luckily a couple of the girls on our tour were in the room next to us, so I was able to give them my phone to charge for a little bit.  Hopefully I can find a new charger tomorrow in Cappadocia.  I finished my book and then called it a night! 

J. 
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