Talking Turkey: Pumakkule and Aphrodisias

Although we have been in Turkey nearly 10 months, we still find many new places to visit. With each new adventure we seem to add ten more to our ever growing list of places to go and see. On May 8th, we rented two cars with friends and headed southeast for about three hours to the ancient site of Aphrodisias. It is one of the earliest occupied sites in Anatolia. It began as just a temple/shrine and then grew into a town in the second century. There is a magnificent theater that was founded in the 1st century as well as baths, an agora and the most impressive stadium that once sat 30,000 people. We were lucky to have an official retired Turkish tour guide among our group who volunteered to give us an informative tour of the very large site. One thing we really liked about this site was that while many excavations had been made, many of the pillars and monuments are out among fields and overgrown brush. In fact there was a New York University team working here from 1961 until 1990 under the leadership of Dr. Kenan Erim. Upon his death in 1990, all work has ceased. Dr. Erim is buried at Aphrodisias.

We ended our visit here in their museum. It was very impressive. The museum consists mostly of of sculptures recovered from the ruins. It also had many old coins, jewelry and pottery. We were very happy because it was air conditioned. After leaving we headed to our pension to rest and grab some dinner.

The next morning we walked to the Pammukkale sight. The hillside is completely covered in white travertine terraces. The Turks have dubbed the geological landscape the "cotton castle". This natural wonder is caused by a spring saturated with dissolved calcium bicarbonate, bubbling up from the mountain. As the water surges over the edge of the plateau and cools, carbon dioxide is given off and the carbonate hardens as hard as chalk. The spring itself emerges in what once was the center of the ancient city of Hierapolis. The therapeutic properties of the water has attracted visitors before it actually became a town during the second century BC. Since many people came here close to their death, the site also includes some incredible tombs for those who died here.

One of our favorite part of visiting this sight was being able to swim in the ancient pools that are still intact. The water is very warm and slightly bubbly. The entire pool is strewn with old pillars and such that you can climb over and sit on. It was pretty amazing.

One of the benefits of renting a car, rather than taking the bus, is the freedom to stop when and where you want. On our drive back to Izmir, we detoured to another ancient site by the name of Nyssa. Nyssa is rarely visited and very inexpensive. It was less than $2 to enter. Like Aprodiasis, very little excavation has taken place at this sight. We had to hike through the woods and over huge pillars to go from one area to the next. And we were the only people there. Nyssa was a flourishing city in the first century BC.