Wonderland of Pamukkale

 Day 10: Wonderland of Pamukkale

Mon, May 04, 2026

This morning we'll take off for the amazing weekly farmers market in the town of Korkuteli, where you can assemble your own delicious picnic lunch. We'll then drive to the hilltop overlooking Pamukkale, where we'll get oriented to its spectacularly calcified cliffs and the impressive ruins of Hierapolis, where ancient Greeks and Romans considered the thermal springs sacred. During your free time, you'll even have a chance to take a quick dip in a natural spring pool amid the remains of Roman columns. After dinner together, we'll attend a religious performance by the followers of Mevlana Rumi, better known as Whirling Dervishes.

First we stopped at a farmers market and we were supposed to buy something for 100TL.  I ended up spending 150TL, but I didn’t know how to bargain. Most people in Turkey do not buy produce at a store. They weekly go to the farmers market.  In the town of çavdır.

The weather wasn’t so wonderful at first.  Snow in the mountains and then rain and wind on the Travertine stone flats ( that is not snow behind me), which are the next three pictures.   Travertine is white while the hot spring waters run down on them, and turn brown when the water dries up.  You can see the water pools in the second picture. 

There was a large Roman healing center and city here at Hierapolis.  The ruins were fun to wander through. I went off the main road and wandered through some old Roman roads and at times, fields.  (My shoes were soaking wet).    The first picture is of the front of the theatre and the next 2 from inside of the theatre.  The Romans seem to have a theatre wherever they had a city. 

Of course, I checked out the cemetery.  In a Roman town it is outside of the gates and called a necropolis. 

TOMB A18 (1st century AD)

The building, one of the most representative and best conserved of the North Necropolis, has the shape of a small temple, built to a square plan with regular walls. The facade is framed by projecting pilasters; the roofing slabs rest on the two frontons and the lateral cornices. Beneath the base is a subterranean chamber partially carved out of the rock. The two chambers have sepulchral beds along the walls.

Above 3 pictures are ….

FRONTINUS GATE

This is the monumental entrance to the Roman city and leads onto the large plateia, 14 m wide, which crosses the whole settlement, exiting a gate at the opposite side, to connect with the road that goes to Laodicea on the Lykos and then Colossae.

It is worth admiring the well preserved structure with three openings, in carefully squared travertine blocks, with elegant arches decorated with a simple cornice moulding, flanked by two round towers. On the two sides of the gate's facade is monumental marble inscription originally attributed to Caracalla though, following the research and partial restoration by the Italian Archaeological Mission, may now be dated to A.D. 84 on the basis of a dedication to the emperor Domitian in the year of his fourth tribunicia potestas (tribune magistrate) and twelfth consulate.

The dedication is by the proconsul (Roman governor) of Asia Minor, Sextus Julius Frontinus, famous Latin writer and author of the treatise on aqueducts.

Then I wandered down some old Roman roads.  No other tourists were around and I had a great time.  The next 7 pictures are from that wandering. 

Above is an old fountain

Then I decided to head to the top of the hill to see the burial place and the place where of one of the apostles was martyred - St Phillip.  These beautiful swallows flew in front of me for a good 1/2 mile on the way up the hill. 

MARTYRION OF ST. PHILIP

This church with an octagonal core was built at the beginning of the 5th century on the summit of the hill. This is probably where, according to tradition, the Apostle was martyred.

The bulding has an eight-sided central room surmounted by a wooden cupola. From each of the eight sides of the central space there was access to a rectangular room through three arches supported by marble columns with capitals decorated with acanthus leaves. The shape of the central room is a reference to the number, eight which symbolises eternity. The church is situated inside a square composed of 28 rooms for housing pilgrims which were accessed from the otside. As in other Byzantine sanctuaries associated with healing powers (e.g. that of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Constantinople), in these rooms incubation rites were practised: during sleep, the Saint cured the sick and made prophecies concerning the future.

Above 2 pictures is how the church looks now, below is a rendition of how it looked 

This the the tomb of St Phillip

After we got to our hotel, we gathered and went to a Whirling Dervishes demonstration.  They are Muslim, but also follow the teachings of Rumi.  The dance is a 4 part dance to honor God, 

 

And to cap off the night, we swam in a natural hot spring