On Top of Pamukkale

When I saw how nice photos of Pamukkale were, I thought to make sure that I would go and visit. I took an eleven hour bus ride to the city of Denizli where Pamukkale is. The Pamukkale is known for its natural white travertine terraces which are filled with water. I was sure this place would be a great place to visit. Reality, however, is not that cooperative. Ignoring the eleven hour bus ride, the place is easy enough to get to. To protect the site, visitors would have to remove their footwear to visit. What I didn’t know was that is can be very uncomfortable to walk on the white slopes. There weren’t any sharp rocks but maybe I was just too used to walking on shoes or carpet that I am not used to walking barefoot. I know this is a first world problem but it was getting painful to just walk up the slope.

There was no rush to go up but I just wanted to make sure to be able to see as much as I can before the noon day sun comes. I can see that I wasn’t the only one have issues here since other people were also having problems walking. Along the way, you can pass by pools of water, most of them are opaque due to the calcium carbonate that is mixed in with the water. This produces a milky white liquid that eventually helps to form the famed terraces. The water is also warm and I don’t think this is because of heat. The water comes from hot springs that are present here. I noticed that not all terraces have water in them. I would later learn that the management has started to control the flow of water supposedly to preserve the site. You can see canals built along the edges of the hill where torrents of water flows. I understand that the water is allowed to flow certain times of the day but it remains to be seen as to how effective this really is.

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