Pamukkale: Hot springs and historic sanctuaries

(MENAFN- Arab News) Ldom do we get to visit a place on earth with both natural and historic wonders nestled together in one tiny setting.sure you have many an old town set against a backdrop of towering mountains in colorful europe but ancient artifacts overlooking hot thermal springs? a roman amphitheater towering over an extensive terrain of white limestone that overlooks an entire cluster of houses huddled under magnificent mountain ranges on the other side? that was certainly a first for me.in fact if there is one tourist trap that i have finally admitted is not overrated it is turkey home to the ottoman empire and one of the few crossroads reconciling europe and asia both literally and figuratively.indeed an avid traveler can never tire from walking around the live natural and historical museum that ravishes the country’s terrain from top to bottom.as we walked around istanbul a highly charismatic hub of minarets culture and lush nature that impressively lies in both continents we encountered a modest travel agency with a picture of what we thought were ice caves.the turquoise blue water that filled these seemingly frozen floors and a banner with “visit pamukkale for 80 euros” prompted us to ask where this place hitherto unheard of was.one triumph that i happily marvel at when i reflect upon my travels is the number of times my travel buddies and i land in an obvious place such as paris istanbul or marrakech oblivious to what is beyond only to stumble upon a much lesser known yet even more enchanting haven.we were pleasantly surprised when we were told that pamukkale could be seen in a day and that we could indeed get there and back for a measly 80 euros on borajet a privately owned domestic airline.much to our ignorance pamukkale literally meaning “cotton castle” in turkish to mirror the amazingly unique almost bizarre white terrain turned out to be a unesco world heritage site.and what we thought was ice turned out to be a horizon of white limestone thanks to the mineral springs gushing forth from the earth.in fact the originality of this particular landscape is a challenge to describe.we landed in our tiny jet and already could see many of the city’s mountains from the airport’s runway.we walked along an old town asking where the “turquoise waters” were.we then walked a short distance and found that the limestone terrain which begins at the bottom of the ascending natural sculpture was guarded by metal gates the type you see at disney.why? because turkish authorities have you take off your shoes to keep the white stone clean.it was a long way up the travertine terrace on a warm october day but felt wonderfully weird and at times slightly painful attempting to tread on the limestone gracefully.there is a thermal spring at every level as you walk up. many people can be seen swimming in these springs in their bathing suits but unfortunately for us we were ill equipped to take a dip. still we got an all-natural highly potent pedicure that left our feet as soft as they come.we had no clue what was at the top of the terrace. for all we knew we expected a town with a few ice cream stands for tired unfit tourist hikers.having made the decision on a whim we had had little time to research. yet as we passed the uppermost spring we took our last upward step onto a platform that turned out to be a gateway to an ancient kingdom.exhausted by the sleep deprivation of the night before in istanbul and the early morning rise to get to pamukkale in good time we snoozed under a tree overlooking the limestone and the entire town and the mountains in front of it.we weren’t too thrilled at the prospect of dragging our heels tiredly to historic artifacts and found it a challenge getting to what signposts told us was some sort of ancient amphitheater in the semi-barren distance.it was however worth it to say the least.the historic dynamism of the area is hard to fathom thanks to the almost surreal blend of ethnic groups and legends that bore their footprints in the place.the “hierapolis” ancient greek for “holy city” comprises the ancient roman and medieval eras and was inhabited by the kingdom of phyrgia a power that ruled parts of asia for 500 years starting 1200 before christ (bc).to make it more accessible to the eastern mind that is 1770 years before the advent of islam.in short the originality of the place is hard to come by be it the theaters and limestone that tower over houses or the greek and roman footprints that juxtapose ottoman glory.like much of turkey pamukkale is brimming with untold stories and untapped terrain that can be soaked up in merely a day and what a day that was. email: [emailprotected]/* */