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Somewhere deep in the earth
beneath Pamukkale and the ancient Roman city of Hierapolis lies a vast source
of water heated by volcanic lava.
The water dissolves pure white calcium,
becomes saturated with it, and carries
it to the earth's surface, where it
bursts
forth
and
runs down
a steep hillside.
Cooling in the open air, the calcium
precipitates from the water, adheres
to the soil, and forms white calcium
"cascades" frozen in stone
called travertines.
The water has been bursting forth
at Hierapolis/Pamukkale for more than
two millennia. The Romans built the
spa city of Hierapolis so citizens
could come and enjoy the health benefits
of the hot mineral water. The beauty
of the travertines was just a bonus.
When I first visited Pamukkale in
1967, the water was still pouring freely
in floods over the cliffs, refreshing
and re-purifying the white travertine
cascades. Shopkeepers put bottles
of local wine into
the channels of hot water, and after
a few days, each
bottle would be completely coated in
pure white calcium. What the wine tasted
like I can't say, but the bottles
were beautiful in their coats of pure white
calcium.
The road from Denizli led right up
the travertine slope to the plateau,
bringing day visitors and overnight
guests by car, minibus, city bus, taxi
and on foot to the Sacred Pool and
to larger public swimming pools just
to the south of it.
Simple motels rose on the edge of
the calcium-made plateau to take advantage
of both the hot mineral waters and
the panoramic views of the broad, fertile
valley below. Simple tea gardens opened
to provide resfreshments and a place
to sit in the shade of pine trees and
oleanders.
As the number of visitors—and
especially budget-conscious backpacking
visitors—increased, the tiny
village at the base of the travertines
became a town. Local residents opened
house pensions and simple hotels and
restaurants to host the visitors.
In the 1980s the local authorities
decided to develop the spa in a more
systematic fashion. By the 1990s the
simple motels were razed and the land
on which they had stood became a park.
The road up the slope was closed to
vehicular traffic, and new vehicle
entrances were built at the north and
south ends of the plateau. The Roman
baths were converted to a good small
archeological museum.
The plan may have looked good on paper,
but in practice it was a failure.
The south entrance, where visitors
were
required to park their cars, was a
long walk away (in
the hot sun) from the travertines, Sacred
Pool, ruins
of Hierapolis, and museum.
The north entrance
was several kilometers on the way to
the neighboring village of Karahayit,
and after entering at the north, visitors
had to walk or drive a full kilometer
to reach the points of interest at
the center of the plateau.
No public transport served
either entrance. Minibuses and city buses
stopped at
Pamukkale Town, so visitors without
their own
transport
(car or
tour bus) had to hire a taxi or walk
a long way to the plateau.
Meanwhile, numerous deluxe
hotels were built at Karahayit, several kilometers
north of the center of the plateau,
but no public transport was provided
between the hotels and the plateau.
Hot mineral water was diverted from
the plateau to fill swimming
pools at the Karahayit hotels and the smaller
hotels
in Pamukkale
Town. Many of the travertines
lost their source of renewal. Dry, they
soon became soiled.
The plateau, once a jolly place where
local residents, Turkish visitors and
foreign travelers mixed, waded in the
travertines, bathed in the Sacred Pool,
sipped tea and nibbled snacks in shady
tea gardens while enjoying the spectacular
view, became a parking lot
for tour buses.
With no public transport right
to the plateau, and the closing of
the public swimming pools and tea
gardens, local residents stopped
coming.
High prices and lack
of public transport discouraged foreign budget travelers.
The large
Karahayit
hotels, built in the hope that both
Turkish and foreign travelers would
visit Pamukkale for week-long mineral
water "cures," became one-night
stops for bus tours driving between Ephesus and Cappadocia or Antalya.
Pamukkale lost much of what had made
it beautiful.
Is it still worth visiting?
Without a doubt, yes.
Although one can no longer wade in
most of them, the travertines
are still beautiful, the Hierapolis ruins still interesting, the fine theater still an excellent, well-restored example
of Roman architecture, the museum still
good, and a swim in the Sacred
Pool still a memorable experience.
Pamukkale may not hold you for more
than one night, but you'll enjoy that
night, and the days on either side
of it.
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