When I open the curtains of my room, there are at least 20 hot air balloons hanging in the twilight of the sun that is still rising. What a beautiful face. The Cappadocia region, which I will visit later, is known for it. Never knew that this is also daily practice here. Before the sun's rays shine powerfully over the hills, they have already disappeared.
A few hours later I stand at the entrance of the limestone terraces, where everyone is asked to take off their shoes. Stepping on the lime is only allowed with bare feet because that prevents damage and dirt. The terraces are created by hot spring water, with an extremely high lime content, which flows down the mountain. The lime deposits in small ribbed layers on the substrate. It reminds me of a lime shield in a parakeet cage.
Fortunately, it is excellent non-slip stuff, otherwise many people would have fallen down. But there is no shortage of tourists. What a crowd. I don't think you want to be here in high season.
But luckily there is a lot of space on the enormous archaeological site, from another great city from a bygone era. And yes, World Heritage again. Before the era, the hot spring and terraces were seen as beneficial, thus founding the city of Hierapolis, a Roman tourist site. People came from afar to the thermal springs of Pamukkale. Hierapolis became a city of relaxation, with a theatre, a temple, an arcaded boulevard and a typical Roman market place (forum). But because of the many earthquakes in the area, Hierapolis was never able to fully develop and in 1354 the city was completely destroyed by a major earthquake. Even when I walked around there was still being excavated and an enthusiastic Italian archaeologist told me that they had just discovered a subterranean passage! Seems really exciting to me.
