Photos of Pamukkale and Capadoccia
From palm trees to icy sidewalks: Pamukkale and Capadoccia, 3 November 1999 Hello all,
Sunday morning we took the bus from Bodrum to Pamukkale, a 6 hour bus trip climbing up and up through the mountains to the high interior plain. Pamukkale literally means 'cotton castle'. It is a place where thermal springs with a lot of calcium in the water have flowed over a cliff leaving huge calcium deposits so that there is a mountainside of white that looks like a major ski slope. You can walk up a path along the face of the slope (after taking off your shoes) through the pools and beside the flowing water. On the plateau at the top there are the ruins of a Greco-Roman town that was built there because of the supposed restorative properties of the waters. There was a very beautiful amphitheater, the remains of a church built where St. Phillip was martyred, and one of the largest agoras of any of the ruins of that period. We also saw the spot where the Tusan Hotel, one of the early resort hotels built by Mr. Enver (see message on Turkish hospitality in the section on the Aegean coast), had been before the Turkish government appropriated it and tore it down because they wanted more control over the site.
We'd been told that there were 3 Australian bicyclists visiting Pamukkale, and Ron, with his unerring eye, spotted them as we were walking near the ruins. They had left their bikes in a coastal town to make a loop by bus into the interior; they have been biking through Europe since mid-July. We spent a fine evening talking with them -- they are about our age. We were also instructed in the basics of rugby as we watched the Rugby Union semi-finals and saw France score a major upset over New Zealand. On Saturday France will play Australia in the final, and the cyclers are already planning where they will be so as to be able to watch the match!
Monday night (1 Nov) it turned out we were all five taking the overnight bus from Pamukkale to Göreme in Capadoccia, arriving together at 5 am in the frigid pre-dawn air at approximately 1100 meters altitude. Two young men (one of whom has an Australian wife) who run a travel agency met the bus and helped us to find pensions -- and gave us tea in the toasty-warm office. They were extremely helpful, and arranged a guided tour for us beginning at 9 that day. The tour was excellent, with one of the best guides we've ever had anywhere.
This area is absolutely amazing -- the only way we can describe the landscape is to say it seems like a cross between New Mexico, Montana, and the moon. Some background scenery for Star Wars was filmed here. There are underground cities of 8 levels, and dwellings carved into the fantastic rock formations that are all through the area. Several of us in the tour group of 15 commented that we felt like we'd been transported into The Hobbit. Take a look at the photos.
Today we took a long bike ride through this amazing landscape, and later saw our Australian friends off on the 6 pm bus for the southern coast. Tonight we have a room with a wood stove -- we changed pensions this morning because last night we were in an unheated room and almost froze! This morning we passed someone scraping ice off the marble entrance walkway of a fancy hotel -- quite a change from the heat and palm trees of Bodrum.
Tomorrow is our last day here, and we take the night bus back to Istanbul. Next report from Istanbul. We hope all of you are well -- and warm!
Love,
Ellen and Ron
Photos of Pamukkale and Capadoccia
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