(16/09/08) - Three Pages
Also check out: Turkey 1 and Turkey 2
After chilling out at Fethiye for the past few days, we jumped in a bus and took off to Pamukkale to see the white terraces:
water comes out of hot springs above, containing lots of chalk which gets deposited over the cliffs:
What you're actually seeing here is artificial, used to be a tarmac road.
Pamukkale was left for many years to basically be destroyed by hotels being built above them which used the hot water for their own pools and the waste water spilled out of them turning the actual white terraces brown. But it's still pretty cool. You're now no longer allowed to wear shoes:
Here are the original white terraces which currently don't have water going over them. This is to let the sun bleach out the brown:
Above the white terraces is Hierapolis, the ruins of a Roman mineral water spa city, which include a grand theatre, one of the most impressive amphitheatres I've ever seen:
Truly impressive, it's massive:
Close-up of main stage:
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Ruins outside:
After checking out
Pamukkale and gaining yet another Crazy John Story (involving sprinting back up the white terraces, losing his camera, shelling out for expensive taxi and bus rides to get it back, missing connections, freaking out Turkish mini-van drivers in the middle of the night and GPSing his way up and down hills) we made it to Kusadasi.We stayed at Konak Villa which was fantastic and I totally recommend staying there:
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It's a little oasis, couple mins walk from the main tourist street:
Kusadasi is a port city, the only tourist thing actually there to check out is a castle on an island:
Was one of the most boring castle's I've seen. I know of much better...
Right! Time for some drunken photos...