I am a sucker for natural waterbodies. Rivers, lakes, even ponds, you name it, I love it, and I must have at least dipped my feet in 98% of waterbodies I see IRL, especially if its clear running waterbodies. So when I read about Pamukkale, the famous mineral water travertines in Turkey, I pinned it right away and made it one of the 'must visit' destinations in Turkey.
Seriously, the view of Pamukkale is breathtaking, and not in asthmatic way. It's MAD GORGEOUS, it's almost surreal. Its cascading layer of white limestone basins filled with warm and rich of mineral light turquoise water stands out amidst the desert-y and greenery surrounding.
We were there at the end of summer so some bassins were dry, the look of it reminds me of the moon's surface in movies, it seems so sureal, contrasting with the trees around and the blue sky.
We stayed at Kusadasi so it was a bit of a ride to get to Pamukkale, but it was totally worth it. I heard some complaints saying the place is not worth a visit because it is always too crowded, too touristic, and so on, and I honestly couldn't really get it. Okay, there are a lot of tourists but it is an iconic tourism spot anyway. If you don't want to have too much selfie competitors crowd around, you can always go at very early in the morning or on low season, or just visit somewhere less interesting where no body care to go, like your own backyard.
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| Sharing the chalky turquoise pools with others like a nice tourist. |
We were there on early September and the temperature was hot, especially Pamukkale is like a hill, so be on top of it almost feel like I was a feet closer to the scorching sun. The chalk cliffs and basins become very white, it was almost blinding. Although there are not much roof to hide from the sun, there is this beautiful green garden that provides you with natural shade in case you are cooking under the sun.
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| Relaxing on this garden under the blue sky, overlooking the white cotton cliffs with its clear blue basins made me think if this is what paradise would look like. |
Although the place is kept as a natural preservation area, it is a tourist place anyway where restaurant and toilets are two inseparable things to have in this kind of places, which I was pretty glad. Enjoying three scoops of Turkish ice cream after the long walk under the sun was very rewarding. In the restaurant area, you can find this monumental pool called Cleopatra's pool. Rumour said that Cleopatra herself has had dipped in this very pool.
The pool claimed to have healing qualities for the water has a lot of good minerals that can relieves you from skin problems like acnes, and other ailment symptoms. I wouldn't argue about the good minerals in the water and how beneficial it is for health, but Pamukkale is one of the spots most visited in Turkey, so the pool, although you have to pay extra (32 TL or around 15$), must also have been a pool most dipped in.
The bottom of the pool is decorated with ancients ruins, and it is the reason the pool is also known as Antique pool. These ruins supposed to give you a cool experience of having a dip with 3000 years old artefacts. Well, it did not. I did not feel like Indiana Jones swimming in an ancient thermal pool at all. The ruins were slippery and its a bit dangerous because you could easily slipped and bang your head on something or made you helplessly grab anyone near you for safety and it turned out you were grabbing a grumpy old man by his belly. Not so cool experience. Also, the pop music blaring at the background totally ruins the atmosphere of being a serene pool.
Apart from taking a dip in the pools, there are a lot of walking to do in this site and I was glad that I was well-prepared as if I was going to a beach ; sun lotion, comfort shoes, water bottle, sun glasses, and a lil sassy attitude.
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| Was I having a thoughtful moment on above the Cotton Castle, was I trying to be sexy, or was I just airing my armpit? |