High in calcium : Pamukkale

This is not snow.  It's calcium.

Pamukkale is a very small town next to the ruins of Hierapolis as well as the white tavertines. These tavertines might look like ice formations but are actually the result of thousands of years of deposits left by calcium-rich natural springs coursing down the mountain. 

The tavertines at night look like some Winter Olympic Training area

The tavertines, made from calcium. These have become natural hot water pools and you can bath in them

The place is very well protected. Years of irresponsible tourism had once turned these beautiful creations into a dismal theme-park attraction. Finally, in desperation, the Turkish government called UNESCO for backup. Many hotels and cafes that took advantage of these hot springs were closed down and now most of the site has been restored to it's original blinding-white state. We were told at the gate that we could only walk up the tavertines barefoot (to avoid damage). Looking at the tavertines (and relating white to freezing snow and ice - we are Canadians after all) we thought we'd were going in for a foot numbing venture. Surprisingly, the white tavertines were really warm, as hot springs from above are constantly flowing down them. The higher we got, the warmer the running water became. We couldn't wait to get to the top!  Chris and I got up early-ish and lucked out, as none of the tour groups had arrived yet. We had the whole place to ourselves.

Surrounded by tavertines

The warm water feels nice on the feet.  Renee, looking at the water running on her feet.  Chris, taking a break from walking to soak his feet in a warm clacium stream.

The whole place to ourselves !

Once we got up to the top, we decided to go swimming in the hot sacred pools. The sacred pool, which was the money-maker for the ancient city of Hierapolis is still running (hey, they ARE natural hot springs! The pool is the main source of the water running down the tavertines). The pool had forever been known as the medicine pool as their are many skin-nourishing minerals in the carbonated water. It felt like we were swimming in a big pool of club soda. Don't open your eyes under water, it stings.

A temple once stood next to the sacred pool but it eventually collapsed, mostly falling to the bottom of the pool. This being said, columns and temple debris scatter the bottom, reminding swimmers of the pool's pedigree. I wish I would of brought goggles...such a perfect place to play mermaid!!

The sacred pool, filled witth ancient debris.

"Hmmm.....where should we sit and lounge?  Oh ! How about on the pillar?" This is what's left of the temple.

Another story worth mentioning was the polar opposite nights we had in Pamukkale. We got to the town late and decided to listen to a tout who was advertising his pension (big mistake, we knew better!). They advertised their place as "the only place in Pamukkale with a central heating system" which means radiators in the rooms. This is important as the area can get down to -5C on some nights. On this night, it was -2C. We got settled in our room and they "turned on" the radiator for us. The room was cold and we were told we had to wait a bit and the room would warm up. One hour later, the radiator was just as cold. We told them and they came up, cranked the radiator another notch with their "special tool" so that we couldn't turn it up ourselves. One hour later, still a cold radiator. We complained. They went up again, gave us an excuse about the boiler being broken and that they had some men fixing it downstairs. What a crock! Two hours later, the radiator was Luke warm and it was past midnight. We decided to go to bed so we dressed ourselves in all the layers we had, including our coats, tuques, gloves and socks and slept, cuddling as close as we could. We did not sleep much.

Chris reading before going to bed. Turkey isn't always warm !

The next morning we woke up to find the entire staff in the lobby, huddled around the wood fireplace....and the lobby had radiators all around!  Of course, they weren't working or TURNED ON VERY HIGH like the one in our room. We left, saying we were going somewhere else as the place was way too cold and they wished us well, without any dismay, totally expecting it!

We went down the street and found another pension. They showed us their rooms (which were already heated...10 points!) and mentioned a sauna. They had us at the s-word. We spent a lovely night, experiencing the polar opposite of the one before a we were sweating in a sauna trying to breath in hot steamy air. It was bliss AND despite the freezing night before, our stay ended well.

Lessons learnt:

1) Never EVER  listen to touts. They are touting for a reason.

2) Always check the rooms before committing (especially in low budget hostels) and make sure the room is preheated.