Thursday, July 7, 2011 – Pamukkale, Turkey to Kusadai, Turkey

This morning we started with a stop to the ancient Hierapolis where we saw the theater, Apollo temple, and many other amazing sights.  It was founded around 190 BC by Eumenus II, king of Pegamum, and was an important place of worship for pagans, Romans, Jewish, and Christian communities for hundreds of years.  Earthquakes are quite common in the area and over the years destroyed many parts of the city which eventually lead it to being abandoned in 1334.

After a long walk through the Hierapolis, we arrived at the sight we had been waiting to see and explore – the highlight of Pamukkale – the network of saucer-shaped travertines that wind down a powder-white mountain like a staircase built for a giant.  (That description is NOT mine…but I loved it and stole it from my Lonely Planet Turkey book on page 280.)  We wandered around (shoes off is a must!) and enjoyed the water and smooth terraces.  The terraces are made of calcite and just seemed to simmer in the morning sun.

One of most surprising visits of our four plus weeks on the road was today when we went to Afrodisias.  I know if (I HOPE!) come back to visit Turkey in 10 or 20 years that this sight will be the number one sight to be sure to include in any visit to Turkey.  Excavations on this area only started 40 years ago and it is still a very active archeological site today.  There are parts of the Afrodisias acropolis that have been dated back to 5000 BC, but the majority of the settlement is thought to have been built around 6^th century BC.  I really don’t know how to explain the vastness and grandeur of the ruins we saw at Afrodisias beyond sharing the pictures.  The stadium was particularly mind-blowing.  It seated over 30,000 people and was just massive.  To be able to see the door where the wild animals were brought through to fight with the gladiators, the two large entrances where the chariots would have come through, and the track that they would have raced each other around for 7 laps, was beyond description.  The sights at Afrodisias were worth all the sweating we did. I really don’t know just how hot it got today, but let’s just stay in Arizona it would considered a stay-inside-in-the-air-conditioning type of day. 



The place of government meetings - the buelitorium.



The temple of Athena

The stadium - see the door on the bottom back? - that's the wild animal release door!

Check out the size of this place!  That far end is where the chariot races came out and raced 7 laps.

A pistachio tree

This is one of my favorite pictures of my trip so far - Mrs. Cohen-Nicolas and her sun hat in the shadows of the sun. 

This was a statue, or part, in the museum at Afradosisas.  It caught my eye.

We LOVE our Magum ice cream bars!  A type for everyone!

The sunset from my hotel balconey at Kusadai, where we will be staying for four nights

The view of the hotel and pool and Aeegan Sea from my 8th floor balconey.