adventures at the cotton castle

today i went to hierapolis and pamukkale with virtually the same tour group as yesterday, with the addition of yet another aussie - john. after a long bus ride and a rather horrible lunch, we arrived at the site. it was amazing! 

to begin, we wandered through the ancient graeco-roman ruins of hierapolis. this was the site of healing and death in ancient times and a place of pilgrimage for christians due to the presence of the martyrium of st. philip. we hiked the impressive slope up to the amphitheater, against the advice of mehmet, and were very happy we did - it was gorgeous! the stage of the theatre was two tiered and featured intricate columns and statues. 

we decided not to pay $20 to swim in the roman pool. it would have been awesome, were it not for the filth of hundreds of tourists. instead we went straight to the pamukkale terraces - the cotton castle. it was absolutely gorgeous, completely unlike anything i've ever seen before. natural hot springs formed calcified terraces and pools all down the side of a mountain. 

the boys and i had a wonderful time frolicking in the hot spring pools all the way down the mountain. it was utterly spectacular and so much fun!!! 

          casually sitting in the spring

   ken and john exfoliating in the minerals

             amer soaking in the pools

unfortunately have to leave before nightfall, otherwise pamukkale at nighttime would certainly have been a magical experience! about to board an overnight bus back to istanbul and then off to greece on sunday!!