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PAMUKKALE
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Pamukkale has always been a very popular settlement where
the hot springs were believed to have healing powers, so
the city became the center of a pagan cult in antiquity
and a spa resort today.
The city was on the borders of Caria, Lycia and Phrygia
and had a mixed population. Citizens were usually
involved in the wool industry and little has changed as
it is still a textile center.
Ephesus Day Trips
The Natural Aspect
The terraces were formed by running warm spring water,
at a temperature of 35 °C / 102 °F containing calcium
bicarbonate. When the water loses its carbon dioxide it
leaves limestone deposits. These are of different colors
and shapes in the form of terraces with pools,
overhanging surfaces and fascinating stalactite
formations. Pamukkale which means "cotton castle" in
Turkish takes its name from these formations. According
to scientists, if the water had always flowed at this
rate, the terraces must have begun forming 14,000 years
ago.A little further away from Pamukkale, near Karahayit
village is another thermal spring, Kirmizi Su (the Red
Water) with warmer water but less carbon dioxide gas
where the running water creates a reddish effect
different then the white cotton terraces of Pamukkale.
History of Hierapolis
The ancient city of Hierapolis was founded by Pergamum,
probably Eumenes II, in the 2C BC. Hierapolis is
believed to derive its name from Hiera, the wife of
Telephus, both being legendary ancestors of kings of
Pergamum. Hierapolis was also interpreted by some as the
"holy city". All the surviving ruins of the city except
the foundations of the Apollo Temple date back to the
Imperial Roman period. In 133 BC the city was bequeathed
to the Romans along with the Kingdom of Pergamum by the
will of Attalus III. It is also thought That a large
population of Jewish people lived there who contributed
to the expansion of the Christian belief. Hierapolis
suffered from frequent large earthquakes and was
restored many times, one of them being a complete
rebuilding by Nero in the 1C AD.
The Site;
Hierapolis is among the cities of the ancient world in
which the grid-plan was applied. The Necropolis is the
largest ancient cemetery in Anatolia with approximately
1,200 graves. Although in the cemetery there are
free-standing sarcophagi and some round tumuli, the main
attraction is provided by large tomb-enclosures housing
three or more vessels and often flanked outside by
sarcophagi, presumably placed there after the interior
was full.
Hierapolis gives the impression of a large cemetery
which, although the tombs have been visited by robbers,
very large numbers of the structures and also the
vessels are still in place; only the tomb gates
(presumably of bronze or iron) and decorations have
disappeared. Many of the tombs here were Christian and
there is at least one large Christian basilica, for the
Apostle Philip was martyred here in 1C AD and the
faithful wished to be buried as close as possible to the
holy dead. The gardens of the tombs in the necropolis
were maintained by specifically established guilds. It
was these guilds’ responsibility to put wreaths at the
graves on special days.
The tomb of the Apostle Philip, the Martyrium was built
in octagonal shape in the 5C, according to the legend on
a spot where he was stoned to death. The Roman Bath
after the necropolis was originally built in either the
2C or 3C AD. In the early Christian period, probably in
the 5C it was converted into a Basilica. The Triple Arch
is the northern gateway to the city and was built in the
1C AD by the proconsul of the Asian Province, Julius
Frontinus in honor of the Roman Emperor Domitian. It was
constructed out of the local travertine and flanked by
two round towers. It also had an upper story which is no
longer standing. The Colonnaded Street is 1,190 m /
1,300 yards long with 6-meter-long (20 ft) walks on
either side separated from the street by columns.
The remains of a huge 2C AD Roman Bath serves today as a
small archeological museum with local finds.
The Sacred Pool which coincidentally contains many
ancient column pieces is located in the Pamukkale Motel
and is not to be missed. This pool may well easily be
the remains of the original pool of the antiquity near
the Apollo Temple. As John Freely says, "There cannot be
another hotel in the world That has a swimming pool like
this."
Somewhere under the surface of the high plateau on which
the city was built there was a vent of poisonous gases,
known to the people of those days as the Plutonium. It
was a shrine of Pluto, the god of the dead and the
underworld. Only a closed room and a paved courtyard
survived to modern day. Geographer Strabo describes it
well: "The Plutonium was a man-high, very deep opening
under a gently sloping hill...the vapors were so thick
That it was impossible to see the floor...but any living
creature That enters will find death upon the instant.
Bulls for example collapse and die. We let some little
birds fly in, and they at once fell lifeless to the
ground. The eunuchs of Cybele are resistant to the
extent That they can approach close to the opening and
indeed go in without having to hold their breath."
The Theater is a 2C AD building in Roman style with many
reliefs depicting scenes representing the Emperor
Septimus Severus and from the life of Dionysus. In the
3C AD it was thought to be restored during the reign of
Septimus Severus. The seating capacity was 20,000. In
the 4C the theater was restored again but this time with
additional changes in the orchestra which offered the
possibility of water displays
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