After spending a couple of nights in Izmir we travel up into the mountains of Turkey's Inner Aegean region and head to Pamukkale en route to Antalya.
As we travel through the interior region of Turkey we pass several large towns with newly constructed housing.
Even the modern towns of interior Turkey still have signs of the traditional lifestyle, such as a horse and wagon mixed in with car traffic.
As we near Pamukkale we travel through small rural farming towns.
The area around Pamukkale is a major cotton producing region where the trucks and tractors seem to outnumber cars.
Getting close to Pamukkale.
As we head to the north entrance of Pamukkale we get our first look of the 1.5 mile long limestone wall created by deposits of calcium carbonate from the hot springs. Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, gets its name from the white calcium deposits.
The hot springs were thought to have healing powers which lead to the building of temples and other religious buildings at Hierapolis, which means “Holy City”. Pamukkale and Hierapolis are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The ruins of the baths, temples and other Greek monuments can be seen at the site.
Panoramic view, click on image to enlarge.
Panoramic view, click on image to enlarge.
You never know what you'll find in the ancient ruins ...
An example of why the ancient Greeks and Romans came to this site.
The ancient Roman Baths have been replaced with a modern hot spring pool which is still enjoyed by visitors.
Warm, heavily mineralized water flowing from springs travels to the hillside terraces where the supersaturated calcium carbonate in the water is deposited and forms the limestone wall.
Panoramic view, click on image to enlarge.
Panoramic view, click on image to enlarge.
People have bathed in these terraced pools for thousands of years and visitors are allow to enter the pools, but wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits.
Large mass plantings of flowers are everywhere ...
and hummingbird moths are abundant (but hard to photograph).
After leaving Pamukkale we pass through the traffic circle of the city of Denizli (a very nice web site). A rooster is the symbol of the city of Denizli and is one of the three statues in the traffic circle park.
We continue through downtown Denizli on our route to Antalya.
More mountains as we travel south from the interior of Turkey to the coast.
We stop at a rest area and see an example of a traditional herder's tent made from the wool of a black goat.
Black goats grazing along the highway.
Sheep being transported by a modern herder.
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