As it turns out, I saw both Ephesus and Pamukkale in one day - and this is not as rushed as it sounds. Ephesus is best seen in the morning before the tour buses arrive and two hours is about right for a fairly leisurely tour. The ruins there are quite stunning, particularly the old library and the expanse of the roads laid in marble. The theatre is dramatic, but I have seen so many of them by now that its effect was not as great as it may be to others. It is interesting to imagine it in its heydey in all its glamour as a thriving city.
By the time I left, the streets were filled with tourists, emptied regularly from the dozens of tour buses that visit on a daily basis. This is a good time to head back to Selcuk, catch some lunch and find a bus to Pamukkale, about 3 hours away. By the time we arrive and check into a guest house in the late afternoon it is actually a perfect time to visit. Pamukkale is the site of a strange natural phenomena where warm water emanating from hot springs somewhere in the hills deposits calcium carbonate in travertines - shallow terraced pools that look surreal, particularly in the evening light. This site is actually open 24 hours and catching the sunset from here is a highlight.
Nearby, there are also some warm ancient pools where the Romans bathed. Here the pools are deeper and clear, with fallen columns lying visible in the water, giving a hint to the more extravagent setting that bathers would have experienced in its prime. Arriving after dusk, this section is technically closed, but I was able to wander in and go for a swim. Being after hours, it lacked the glamour evident earlier in the day when you can sip drinks and bask in the sun surrounding the pools, but I didn't pay to get in so I can't complain.
Further up the hill there are the ruins of Hierapolis, where yet another impressive theatre can be found amid other ruins, most of which are difficult to distinguish.
From Pamukkale, there is a night bus to Istanbul, where I will meet up with a friend for the day. My flight is early in the morning (5:55am), so I will probably simply stay out late and head to the airport in the wee hours.
- Ran
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Turkey blog: http://raninturkey.blogspot.com/
Turkey photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ran.guin/Turkey
Climbing photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ran.guin/ClimbingTurkey photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/ran.guin/Turkey
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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.
An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered."
- GK Chesterton
An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered."
- GK Chesterton
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