Day 11 – Tuesday 19 May

It was a shame we lost a day in Fethiye due to being sick. Yesterday we pushed ourselves, probably too hard in hindsight in the heat and so soon after being so sick. But sometimes you have to dig deep and hope for the best. We are also learning that travelling at our age is different from even 5 years ago – we no longer have the resilience of a person in their 50’s or younger. We do have however, very strong wills and that can be a strength and a weakness. We will learn to listen to our bodies and adjust or temper when we need, or not doubt our bodies will tell us!

I felt ok this morning, but tired. My stomach felt stable, but not 100%, and a little backwards on what I felt last night. I had a few trips to the bathroom before leaving so clearly am not completely over the food poisoning. When we checked out I expressed my disappointment to reception again regarding the experience. The more senior manager came and attended us and reduced the food bill by 50% and apologised. We also were given a fruit platter the night before when we came in from our walk. I got the distinct impression we were not the first ones to have experienced food poisoning….

The drive to Palmukkale was approximately 3 hours. We considered fitting in our missed day agenda before going, which was to go to Patara beach, sand dunes and archaeological ruins, but it was in the wrong direction back towards Kas, and would have added another 2 hours to the travel. We decided to accept the loss, and instead have a relaxed drive to Pamukkale.

The drive took us up to the white topped hills in the distance that we could see from Fethiye. At one point we were up just over 1,000 ft. The views were nice and soothing to see ranges and lack of habitation. There were quite a few tiny hamlets along the way, with small allotments of vegetables, grapes or olives.

We saw an old man tending his 3 large wooly sheep on the side of the road, and two lots of women in traditional clothes with small herds of long legged, long haired goats grazing the side of the roads and hills. Along the road side there are water stations – sometimes just pipes coming out of the bank of the hill, where we presume you can fill up water from the mountains streams. We saw locals filling up large containers. There are also quite a few wildflowers including the deepest red poppies I have ever seen. Other flowers are pink, purple and bright yellow.

On the other side of the ranges were some vast valleys and bigger towns. Around lunch time we stopped – mainly for toilet – still not good and bought some yoghurt drink, bananas and pears. Vern struck up a brief conversation with a man in the car park who was curious as to where we were from. The people are so genuinely friendly here – it makes Türkiye such a wonderful place to visit.

Another interesting things we saw was fields of white tulips. Yes, I googled it and apparently the Dutch originally got tulips from the east! They have a native white one here. We are enjoying so many much about this country – especially learning about its terrain, people, history and culture today.

It does not feel very Muslim for example, despite the regular calls to prayer each day and mosques in every town, hamlet and city. There appear more modern Turkish than traditional. The different ethnic groups also are interesting – looking quite different, yet all part of Ataturk’s united Türkiye. And finally on a side note, despite not being far from Ukraine or Iran, no one including ourselves seems to be concerned or affected by the wars – thank goodness.

We arrived safely in Pamukkale at around 3pm and saw the terraces on the way to our spa hotel. I could see tiny dots of people at the top and was impressed by the size of them. The hotel manager who looks like a middle aged Jack Nicholson descended on us with good English and loads of charm. Before business we were offered Turkish tea and sat down with him in the foyer and got to know each other. Yes another man that seemed intrigued with my chest or green eyes – not sure about which….Vern thinks the former.

That aside he was super helpful and took us on a tour of the facilities and to our room. Ensuring we had his WhatsApp to ask him anything any time. We pondered having a swim and relaxing at the spa or to fit the terraces and city of Hierapolis in today as the weather indicated possible showers tomorrow. Seizing the moment we set off to the car park a few km’s down the road.

At the top car park you can get a private buggy for a tour of Hierapolis and then get dropped at the top of the terraces where Cleopatra’s pool also is, or you can walk, or get the mini buggy only which does not give you a tour of the major sites of Hierapolis. We chose the latter due to time.

So are the Pamukkale travertine terraces (meaning Cotton castle in Turkish) worth it, and do they live up to the instagram photos? Yes and no in our opinion. Yes, we are pleased we went. They are impressive, and in part due to the ancient spa city that sits above it. The Snow White terraces filled with blue water (more intensive of course on a blue sky day) have been formed over thousands of years by the mineral rich thermal hot springs depositing thick layers of calcium carbonate.

The insta photos are very cleverly orchestrated and the ordinary tourist hasn’t a show of getting those shots. Of course travel for us is not about the instagram shot, however the multiple natural terracing of blue pools is no longer accessible as they block and channel the water to a few at a time to protect them. Most of the area is fenced off from public walking on it for the same reason. If one was to come very early or very late, you could get one of those beautiful shots perhaps, but certainly not during most of the day.

The area you can access does have pools and you are free to swim in them. It was lovely to see all sizes and ages enjoying the water, especially children. There is also a channel to sit and put your legs in, to which we both did and I meditated on the healing energy whilst doing so. You are not allowed shoes on in the area, and it is a bit slippery all around and sharp in areas – so not for the mobility challenged or tender footed.

The yes and know part is that they are a long way from anything in south western Anatolia, and other than Hierapolis there is nothing for miles of any great interest. If it was not for the city – and the combine history then it would not be worth it I think, unless white terraces really interested you. There are nice, reasonably prices spa hotels that tap into the same thermal like where we stayed so it could be a nice place for some healing treatment and relaxation.

After enjoying the pools and getting our own photographic mementos we went to the Hierapolis museum, the theater and the Ploutonion before the last mini bus cart finished for the evening at 8pm.

As with the terraces, Hierapolis is impressive due to its size. It is a well preserved Greco-Roman spa city that sits directly on top of the terraces. It’s name means ‘holy city’ and it is believed that Jesus’ apostle Philip was supposedly martyred there.

The theatre is 2nd century, and Hierapolis has one of the largest ancient cemeteries in Türkiye, with over 1,200 tongs, stimuli and family sarcophagi stretching across 2 km. The Ploutonion – Pluto’s gate is an ancient sanctuary built over a cave emitting toxic carbon dioxide gas, which the ancient priests used to demonstrate miraculous immunities. They also believed it was the entry to the underworld and sacrificed bulls there (and probably the poor lower caste people who got overcome by the fumes also).

We both enjoyed walking around that end of the ancient site in the late evening golden glow. We had considered swimming in Cleopatras pool, but on seeing it and the extra fee to enter, felt it was very overrated and gave it a miss.

Back at the hotel to enjoy the buffet which was part of our full board fee. It was quite good for a buffet, and we stuck with and enjoyed the hot meal section including Anatolian tomato soup. Slightly creamy, delicate spice and comforting. I also had a nice local red wine – on that note, Turkish wines are very, very, very nice.

Another big day, of very different experiences that we enjoyed and pleased we did. On a scale of Rick Steve’s rating, we would say a 2 – which is if you have time it is worth the side trip, however do not go out of your way if your time is limited.