Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Mineral Springs - Pammukale, Turkey




As with scores of travelers, I too made the cardinal mistake of just believing the travel brochures, travel agents and the like when it came to deciding the places of interest for my itinerary in Turkey.

Had it not been for the friendly hotel owner at Cappadocia who was extremely rigid and stubborn that we do not skip the small town of Pammukale which lay to the East of the popular tourist city of Kusadasi, my wife and I would most surely have missed this place of unmatched beauty and serenity enhanced more so by the unblemished white all around , as though experiencing the beauty of mother nature in its virginity.

Mineral Springs, is so called because what u see above in the picture is not snow, but an entire ridge made up of mineral deposits, mainly calcium, hence the white colour. Underneath this white blanket runs an underground stream, (whose waters according to folk stories have healing properties, the Govt has built a bath to that effect) whose flow is now controlled by the Govt authorities which is turn make for the formation of the pools seen in the picture.

The walk is a small climb from the base of the town of Pammukale to the top of the rigde, but the walk is transforms you from the a quiet sleepy town to the footsteps of the legendary city of Hierapolis which sits at the top of this natural wonder.

Whilst this natural phenomenon is barely a few kms wide, its beauty runs along with you forever.

No comments:

Post a Comment