Desiree Koh:
On the otobus somewhere between Fethiye and Pamukkale... rain on the mountains.
Desiree Koh:
I have NO idea where this is, but we stopped halfway during the journey at this otogar in the mountains. The toilets looked scary from the outside and I was not brave enough to not judge the book by its cover.
Desiree Koh:
A very enterprising cay guy hustling tea back and forth from his little stall to otobus passengers stretching their legs.
Desiree Koh:
Hanging out - it's always tea time in Turkey!
Desiree Koh:
A one-bus town.
Desiree Koh:
At Denizli, we had to get off at the otogar and hop onto a mini-bus for a 30-minute ride into Pamukkale. Fare list tacked on the top of the dolmus.
Desiree Koh:
An overcrowded Denizli bus-stop, where everyone seemed to cram into our dolmus!
Desiree Koh:
A homemade dinner at the pension - hummus, aubergines with yogurt, beans in tomato sauce, and zucchini stuffed with pilaf and tomato.
Desiree Koh:
I am not sure what this is called, but it was a lamb kebab casserole with rice and served in a sizzling skillet. Turkish mom cooking!
Desiree Koh:
May 31. Back to kahvalti for breakfast, a traditional Turkish plate of pastry, cheese, cucumber and tomato slices, olives, fried egg, cold cuts and fruit. Mmmm!
Desiree Koh:
I found that if you spread the tahini peznak (tahini paste at 10am, which is my new favorite breakfast thing) together with grape molasses (middle), you'd get a Turkish PBJ. And it is SO good.
Desiree Koh:
It's on to the travertines!
Desiree Koh:
Why are people frolicking in swimsuits on a snowy mountain?
Desiree Koh:
It's not snow - it's calcium crystals created by the reaction between the natural springs and the rock.
Desiree Koh:
You have to walk barefoot on the travertines, or a guard will whistle furiously at you until you take your shoes off.
Desiree Koh:
Really stunning - I'm not sure if there is anything else like this in the rest of the world. More reason to love the earth!
Desiree Koh:
The travertines are terraced all the way up a hill.
Desiree Koh:
This looks like an igloo. Hopefully sans Sarah Palin.
Desiree Koh:
Crystal clear springs.
Desiree Koh:
Cubs fans everywhere!
Desiree Koh:
Kids making a splash.
Desiree Koh:
At the top of the travertines resides the ancient city of Hierapolis, an elaborate set of ruins dating back to the early first century. Taking cover beneath the medieval fortress here.
Desiree Koh:
This is probably the newest of all the structures, built in the first half of the 13th century during friction between Byzantium and Seldjuk, but abandoned by the 14th century after an earthquake destroyed the three two-storied square towers.
Desiree Koh:
Random rocks.
Desiree Koh:
Hierapolis was founded as a spa city, where Romans came to be cured of various ailments. Here in the northern necropolis, or cemetery, it is obvious that the doctors at Hieropolis were not the most effective... look at how many tombs and sarcophagi there
