Pamukkale

We are sitting on this bus.... real luxury, with a waiter, tv on the seat backs like airoplanes...and wifi.  We have nothing as flash in Australia and the bus staff are turned out in crisp white shirts and bow ties!  And this is the standard bus we have seen in Turkey...not the rattle heaps that my narrow minded conditioning might have expected, back in Australia..

Turkey has been instructive on so many levels.  This morning, while waiting for our bus out of PPamakkale, we were engaged in conversation with the owner of the bus stop/travel agency, a man of 53 years, looked a lot like Gerald Durrell, perhaps, with greying beard and of comfortable proportions.  He, like so many Turks, was immediately at our side asking if we needed help and offering assistance.  Turns out he is an archaeologist as well and a font of information about the history of Pemakkale, and all of Turkey and has been involved in many digs.  He is an underwater archaeologist in particular and has spent years diving through sunken wrecks around the Turkish coastline and says there are still hundreds of sites yet to be excavated.  Each one takes years, apparently, so there's plenty yet to find.  He has taken particular interest in the ANZACs in Gallippoli, to the north west of here.  He travels to Australia a couple of times a year to pursue this interest, so he knows Australia well.  His name: Ender Erim.

The place I write about now is Pamakkale, which has brilliant white ledges and pools made by natural springs containing calcium, which over the millennia, has created a huge white "travertine" or that's what they call it, which spills out over a hillside, creating these shallow pools a bit like rice paddies down the slopes.  Early civilizations going back to the 3000 years BC built the beginnings of the city, later called called Hierepolis, with hot and cool water readily available, with the Romans taking over the place during their occupation for the duration of their empire.  This is getting long winded, so now for the pictures:

We were off up the mountain around 9 a.m. or so, but it should have been earlier.  The hoards arrived as the morning wore on, but all of us were fascinated and delighted with this unbelievable landscape, of hard, warm snow and constant water running over it all..  It was getting hotter and hotter and people were throwing their clothes off and getting into the water, with all the world's bodies on display, from  French nymphettes to big bellied Russians, we were all getting into it!

This is one middle aged Australian woman who can't believe where she is and what she's doing.  I just had to get the camera to show what I was looking at....

Up on top of  the hill is the ancient city of Hierepolis.  There is a museum at the top in the old city baths, (hammam) two stadia /theatre complexes and crumbled temples.  It was impossible to be overtaken by raiding armies  and even Alexander the Great couldn't get to it because of its unique site.  What brought it down in the end was two massive earthquakes of 9.5 on the Richter Scale. in the 9th and 11th centuries, which levelled most buildings.  What is left is the strongest, most massive walls, which only indicate the size of the buildings that were there.  The place looks like it must have been thoroughly picked over but the archaeologists are still on the site, opening up the ground.  Just two weeks ago, the burial tomb of one the Apostles - St. Phillip, was found.  This place is still a treasure trove to the historians.

 There is a museum of artefacts found on the site, which is great.  Some of the objects are in really good condition, probably found in underground chambers that survived the quakes.  The workmanship in making the large marble funerary sarcophages' is really impressive.  Perfect walls, corners and floors, seemingly machine made they are so perfect.  And on the outside, ornate carving of the lives of the people inside.  Maybe it would be a good business to go into.....speciality sarcophaguses.!!! Some how I don't think fired clay ones would stand the test of time.!

 

An archaeological dig in progress....there are a couple of guys over the end there with jack hammers!  I thought it was supposed to be small picks and brushes!!!

Lines of tourists ....walking like herds of sheep across the landscape.  The place is a favourite with holidaying Russia who like the place, being so close to home.  But there are a lot of tourists from Europe as well.  Very occasionally, you hear an Australian accent.  
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Last pictures before we left the top, heading down.

 After the long day trecking, we went home for a rest, wash and revive.  Then when it was cool and dark, we went looking for a feed and made our way into the town to  Meh Meht's Heaven. 

 He was recommended to us by Sara and Pat, who went there nearly two years ago on their journey through Turkey.    So - Sara and Pat, here's Meh Meht, still going stong, and wanted you to know that he is still young and healthy, as you see.  And very busy right now as it is the high season and his business going

 gang busters. We could only snatch a few minutes with him but he shouted us a couple of glasses of  Turkish ouzo which was nice of him.

He remembered you, even though he must see thousands of customers, and while this photo was being taken, he was saying Helllooo, Patreeek!!!    We had found your entry in the visitors book, Sara, and put our own in, including our email and web site, because Meh Meht was making vague promises to visit Australia, and we invited him up to our valley as a matter of course.  You never know, one day he might just turn up.

So onwards, to Igirdir, which is on a large lake, on the way out East.  We think Ann and Adrian have visited this place one time and it's possible we may even be on the island peninsula they visited.  

Love to all you folks back home.  Only 20 odd days go now.