Cotton Castle

Pamukkale, Turkish for 'Cotton Castle', is a cluster of travertine pools cascading over the cliffs' edge just next to the ruins of Hieropolis. The calcium rich water rushes down into the pools, making the mountain look like its covered in snow, even when temperature is above 100 degrees. So pretty!

Chris and I decided to bus and hitch our way inland from Antalya since this city is close, and our CS hostess, Fevy, said of course we could leave our bags with her. Once again we rode our bikes through town and out to the Otogar, locking them to a pole and catching a dolmuş toward Termessos. This time we went all the way to the destination town, Korkutelli, which turned out to be a very pleasant place with an enormous fruit and veggie market stretching down several streets. This region is one of Turkey's largest agricultural zones, and the town serves as something of a local hub, like Elbasan in Albania. We were thrilled to buy peaches at 3 for 1 lira (they are 1 lira -$.66- each usually) and I picked up a full armload of red peppers for .50 kurum ($.33). Mind you we dont spend less, just eat more. :) The man laughed because I wanted so little he didn't know what to charge.


Little peppers drying in the valley

Well stocked (and stoked) we walked to the edge of town and started hitching toward the city of Denizli, about 150 km away. Can you imagine this would take days by bike and we would get there in only a few hours?

The plus side to driving is that we didn't have to struggle up and over the mountain passes. However the down side is that we couldn't stop to take pictures of the amazingly picturesque valleys. To rub salt in that wound we passed miles and miles of endless apple and peach orchards, corn and tobacco flowers, melon fields and orange groves. Loads of traditional old villages sprinkled with cyprus and poplar trees (recently became one of my favorite) and mountains reflecting light and shadows from the drammatic clouds and late afternoon sun. It was gorgeous. You'll have to take my word for it.

We did stop once, at a melon stand, while the nice guy driving us loaded up on kavün (honeydew). I love roadside stalls! The melons were weighed in a big bucket with a weight at the top, then the woman went back to her comfy cushioned platform to knit.


Weighing our kavün

Once in Denizli we took another dolmuş to the village of Pamukkale, which is definitely touristy but not overwhelming. The pools and ruins of Hieropolis come on the same ticket (20 TYL) and are open 24 hours. We figured it would be pretty easy to get in and find a quiet place to sleep, it is an enormous park afterall.


Welcome to the Cotton Castle

Walking up toward the travertines people are asked to deshoe so that the white surface doesn't discolor. This was a lesson learned from the early years of people swimming and frolicking around without a care; there is less water today (hotels were built and then torn down) and the surface is slightly darkened compared to before. We walked upstream, happily dipping our feet in the 'curative' warm water, then sat in one of the parks set along the ridge, feasting on our market picnic.


Travertines at night

It's true the park is open all night (and very well illuminated) but it is also heavily guarded and they do not appreciate people sleeping there. While they could not kick us out they sure were baffled by us. There are also tons of aggresive dogs that kept popping out of the bushes and barking at us (I only screamed once)!

Cold night, but eventually the sun began peaking over the mountains. We grabbed our bags and walked back up to the pools, hoping to catch them before they became overcrowded with tour groups (this is one of Turkey's top five destinations). It is forbidden to swim in the pools nowadays, but amazing to imagine this white wonderland in antiquity, surrounded by opulent Roman temples and baths, crowded market streets, and lively theater performances.


Sun rising on the pools

After leaving the park and heading back to Denizli, we were able to catch a lift with two young Izmirian guys, then another man who was driving all the way to Antalya. He turned out to be a very interesting character; from the back I could hear Chris and him engaging in quite passionate discussions about politics (both Turkish and American), Israel, how great Turkish cuisine is (but how home cooking is nothing like restaurant food), and the economics selling jeans and exporting children's toys to the States. (you can guess my position I'm sure)

Successfully back to Antalya! We spent the late afternoon relaxing on a blanket in the park along the cliffs, overlooking the harbor, surrounded by wandering peacocks and colorful roosters.



Endless waterfall at the park


Atatürk Parkı has plenty of comfy nargile cafes

Another final evening with Fevy; we each cooked eggplant dishes (she made a delicious patlican (eggplant) and pepper combo with garlic, we stir fried patlican with zucchini and curry masala), then sat around together another few hours sharing stories and information about our homes. In Fevy's hometown of Antakya, closer to the Syrian border, people speak Arabic, so she grew up speaking (but never learning to read) Arapça dil. Chris is excellent at reading and writing Arabic, they make a great pair! I'm so glad to have met her, somehow simply knowing someone local makes a city feel real to me.


Chris and Fevy eating patlican and practicing Arabic