From Ephesus, we went to another ancient city, Hierapolis, built on top of Pamukkale. Hierapolis felt like an even larger city with even more ruins, but we were almost the only ones exploring it. We didn’t complain, however, as we got to take pictures without 100s of people in the way.
Pamukkale (Turkish for Cotton Castle) is a unique natural phenomenon. From Wikipedia: “Pamukkale’s terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by water from the hot springs. In this area, there are 17 hot water springs in which the temperature ranges from 35 °C to 100 °C. The water that emerges from the spring is transported 320 metres to the head of the travertine terraces and deposits calcium carbonate. When the water, supersaturated with calcium carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide de-gasses from it, and calcium carbonate is deposited. The depositing continues until the carbon dioxide in the water balances the carbon dioxide in the air. Calcium carbonate is deposited by the water as a soft jelly, but this eventually hardens into travertine.”
