Snow in Autumn: The Travertine Terraces of Pamukkale

English version below.

After a short stop in Alanya, where Stefan can drop off his finger training device, we continue on to the snow. Oh wait, it only looks like snow. It is actually limestone, and it is not cold, but warm. The limestone has been deposited from the water onto the mountains for centuries, forming fascinating structures. The travertine terraces of Pamukkale. We carefully wade down the limestone mountain, with the warm water washing over our feet. However, the water gradually becomes colder, and we are relieved to return to our guesthouse after the descent. There, a warm stove and tea await us. We enjoy delicious Turkish food prepared by our Turkmen hostess. The little daughter, with whom Mary practices numbers and colors in English, presents us with a huge pomegranate from their own garden.

In the morning, we explore the ancient ruins of Hierapolis. We are fascinated by how close we can get to the ruins and feel almost like explorers as we climb around, explore old church ruins, and try to decipher ancient Greek inscriptions. A dip in the warm springs is a must. After bathing in the healing water, we snuggle into our warm blankets in the evening after a game of chess, as the nights are getting colder. Not only the warm Turkish autumn, but also our journey is slowly coming to an end.

After a short stop in Alanya, where Stefan gets rid of his finger-training-device, we travel further north, into the snow. Oh wait, it only looks like snow! In reality, it’s limestone that precipitated from the warm spring water. Over the centuries, this process formed the water-filled terraces of Pamukkale. Right during sunset, we cautiously walk down the limestone cliff while warm water flows between our toes. The further down we get, the colder the water becomes, so we are quite happy to back at our guesthouse again, where a warm stove and hot tea await us already. We have a delicious Turkish dinner, cooked by our Turkmenian host and her little daughter, who learns colors and numbers in English with Mary, gives us a huge pomegranate from their own garden.

That same day we also wandered through the grand ruins of the old city Hierapolis and are fascinated by the fact that we can roam freely between those ancient buildings. We feel a little bit like archaeologists while walking and climbing through the ruins and while trying to decipher the ancient Greek writings in the stone. A bath in the warm spring water is also something we didn’t want to miss. After splashing a bit in the so-called healing waters, we finish our day with a game of chess and crawl under our warm blankets, since the nights are quite chilly already. Not the warm Turkish autumn, but also our journey is slowly coming to an end.