Pamukkale is one of Turkey’s famous sights and attracts a lot of tourists, although most of them on day trips.
There are a series of travertines, or ledges, that have been formed by water running down the side of a hill that is high in minerals. The water is said to have healing properties and so an ancient city was build on the top of the hill where they built baths (very similar to Roman baths). The baths are still there, and if you can go swimming, as long as you pay the enterance fee!
The pools are not very deep, and at the bottom there are still large marble pillars that were once part of the building. It’s a nice place to swim, but it’s very crowded with tourists and quite expensive at 36 Lira; and that is on top of the 25 Lira you must pay to enter the site.
After you have seen the ancient city, you can climb down the ledges and walk through the water. In most places it is not deep enough to swim in, but you can wade through it. Most hotels in the area have taken the water to fill pools that their guests can swim in.
The town itself is very small with just a handful of hotels and restaurants. A lot of people either come here on a day trip, or just stay one night. I was hoping that there would be other attractions in the area, but there is nothing else around.
Today I will continue across to Ephesus by train. So far I have only taken buses in Turkey, so the train should be a nice change of pace.
I heard that they had closed this place to tourists years ago. Either I heard the wrong info or they re-opened it. I always wanted to visit the pools.