This place is breathtakingly beautiful. The views downhills and beyond were unbelievable. If you happened to be in Turkiye don’t miss this place. Spend the afternoon here and end it with a spectacular sunset.
Our trip to Denizli from Bodrum took about six hours. The bus stopped at every station along the way that’s why it took longer than usual bus trip(3-4 hours). It wasn’t a pleasant journey; the driver smoked at every 15 minutes. I just couldn’t bare to be near a smoker worst still couped up in air cond bus for hours. Our bus drivers have more discipline in this manner. So insensitive to the public.
Anyway, we landed at a homestay somewhere in this small town called Cleopatra’s House. To be honest it is not as beautiful as the name tells you. The rent was cheap so I should not complain.
A few hours in the morning we spent time at Laodikea , a site of greek remains not far from Pamukkale. That one was not as massive as this one, so should give it a miss. It was hot so we couldn’t spend outside under the sun too much. By noon we were back at our homestay and rest.
At about 3pm as the sun still hot and shining, we joined the hustle bustle at the front gate. Busloads of foreign tourists started to enter Pamukkale. The map of imaginary original site showed a huge complex of residentials ,communal center, temples, arena and bath houses. The unique character of Pamukkale is that it’s situated on/around a white mountain of rocks called travertine. A white terrestial limestone used in tiles and bathroom elements.
Many structures have collapsed but still a good portion of the place remained visible. We strolled down what used to be the main street towards dipping pools. Terraces of shallow waters on the edge of the mountain. I dipped into one of the pools like a silly boy trying to feel how deep the water is. Iced cold, my feet quickly shivered…. Bbbrrehhhhh.
We entered a museum and saw headless statues and broken plates. Aslan was there; so were Artemis, Hadrian, Triton, etc. So many of them survived the weather regardless missing the leg, the arms or the whole lower body. I was trying to remember my greek philosophy class some time ago. I didn’t appreciate them then and couldn’t appreciate them now.
We stayed until the sky started to draw the day-curtain down. The blue skies turned mellow and reddish. The sun was going down. And soon witnessed a spectacular sunset before a stunning valley of the village below. Awesome. The night fell and darkness chased us out of the place. We were safely home and cooked dinner with salmon we bought on the way back. A day well spent , alhamdulillah.
Woke up early to get ready to see the hot air balloons. Waaaah amazing! But not sure I would climb into that basket and fired up into the air. No no no not me……. This is as far as I can get to experience the balloon ride.Right here on the ground hahahaha. My hearts were beating twice as fast just seeing the fire fiercely blew the air….. and I didn’t see any security belts or safety straps of any kind. I will stay right here thank you very much. çok teşekkür ederim !
By noon we said goodbye to our host. He sent us to the bus station and embraced each other like old friends. Then the review form dropped in so I asked my wife to fill it up. And she did put a comment about a boiler. It turned out he was furious with the comments. She did give an 8/10 overall so I thought it was fair enough. I would not rate him more than six thats why I did not do it. The place was a homestay with basic facilities that we thought not up to regular standards. Decent but not fantastic.
The boiler for hot water was oddly placed inside the small toilet. I bumped my head into it and hurt terribly.the stove was there but we had to ask a boy for his lighter to light it up. The bed was slumpy like a thousand kids have been jumping on it. The washing machine was up in the attic(like an abandoned warehouse up there). It was cheap compared to others and we did reflect that in the review. So our feedbacks were fair and square. But he did not like them one bit.hahaha the reviews stay, Mr Emir, deal with it!
The bus(minibus again) to Fethiye was scheduled at 1:30 pm. The Friday prayers started at 1:02 with khutbah and solat, I didn’t think will make it . But I stayed on and finished the prayers plus Asr. The driver was furious but I made myself an old stubborn man that don’t follow rules. Sometimes you must learn to be an asshole and do things according to you not others.
Anyway the bus was late because of me but somehow I felt strongly not to be apologetic. This is an express bus serving long distance travellers. Fethiye is 3-4 hours away. Ironically, this one stopped at ever junction and pick up anyone that waved it down. Some people even post packages through this guy. The further we travelled more people hopped on. I looked on not with disgust but with disbelief. There were no more seats but he kept stopping and picking up people.
Finally, the bus reached Fethiye at 5:30 pm. What a day!
