The travertines "terraces" (by Niki)

I feel like I have witnessed mother nature at her best today while seeing the travertines. I have seen this natural wonder in magazines before like the National Geographic, but I never thought that I would see them, let alone walk on them and swim in them! What a surreal experience! This has to be the most amazing thing I have ever seen!

The travertines are these majestic looking pure white shelves that protrude out of a mountain. The shelves are sometimes called "terraces" because that is what they resemble. They have been in formation for over 14 000 years and are currently considered a Unesco heritage site which helps to protect them. They are created from a simple chemical reaction where the the water that flows down the mountain is warmed by subterranean heat and the high calcium content that is natural in the water precipitates out when it is exposed to carbon dioxide in the air. This creates the pure white lime stone look that is so unique to the travertines.

We enjoyed them for hours! We arrived early and were able to experience them without the crowds. Imagine the sun shining, the feel of hard grainy pure white stone beneath your feet, with warm water tickling your ankles. It felt like paradise. Similar to the Blue Lagoon, there is clay at the bottom of the pools that you can exfoliate your skin with too. There was a small stream large enough to lay in that was so lovely as warm water gushed past us, almost pushing us down the mountain. At one point, a cheerful couple higher up than us kept letting extra gushes of water past them so to laugh at Josh as he was pushed further and further down! Everyone was in good spirits and having a blast.

The view of the travertines from all around was breath taking. Not only are there cliffs of white stone everywhere you turn, there is also a gorgeous view of the town and landscape. This is definitely a must-see in Turkey and I am so glad we made the special trip! It was difficult to stop taking photos...we would say enough and put the camera away, only to pull it out a minute later for "just one more." We actually ended up losing the battery in the camera and had to depend on the iPod for the rest!

What is so wonderful about this National Park is that you get to experience a wonder of mother nature, and at the top of the mountain, a wonder of man: the ruins of Hieropolis. The city was founded in 190 BC originally considered a cure center because of the travertines and the priests that used the waters to heal the sick. At one point the city was turned over to the Romans and most of the ruins convey this influence. A series of earthquakes hit the city until a final one in the 1300s was so devastating that it was abandoned. Having seen some ruins already we were feeling a bit "ruined out" and decided to focus on the most interesting ones.

We saw the magnificent theatre which held 10 000 people and had travertine blocks for seating. It is currently being restored as an Italian mission and we could see the employees hard at work in the unrelenting sun. The most interesting ruin for us however, was the martyrdom of St. Philip which is a long trek up a hill but well worth the effort as we had it all to ourselves. St. Philip was thought to have joined St. John and the Virgin Mary in this region and he preached in Hieropolis, converting people to Christianity. He was martyred in his old age by crucifixion and laid to rest on a hill. A church was built around the tomb to honor him. It was especially neat to see as it was just discovered in July 2011 and is still in the process of being excavated and restored as we were there! Although there is a romantic notion attached to being an archeologist that is likely far from reality, it seems like a really interesting and rewarding career when you see all the incredible ruins.

We were happy to mosey down the travertines and this time we took the opportunity to swim to cool off. The pools felt amazing and it was fun to relax and people watch since the travertines were fairly busy by this point. Eventually we conceded to our rumbling tummies and headed out of the park to grab lunch. We tried pide which is a pita type bread cooked in olive oil with a mix of meat and vegetables inside. I really liked it and will look for it on a menu again (you can only eat so many kebabs!).

< Pammukale is a fairly small town, centered around the tourism of the travertines so we just relaxed for the rest of the day and did some necessary chores like laundry and figuring out where our next destination should be. We are now going to go see the mountain at night since it all lit up then it is off to Patara beach tomorrow!
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