Turkey (Pamukkale, Hierapolis and Ephesus)

Pamukkale has to be seen to be believed. It just cannot be described in words and even photos cannot do full justice to its beauty and grandeur.

Pamukkale is unique.

We had seen such terraces at Waiotapu (New Zealand) before but though they are grand and colorful in their own right, nothing compares with the calcium terraces (They are called ‘travertine’s) with their beautiful turquoise-blue pools, shaped like lotus leaves, at Pamukkale.

{I had always associated the word ‘Turquoise’ with the word ‘Turkish’ in my mind and thought that maybe the gemstone is found in Turkey. I was pleased with my own perspicacity when I found the following info. on the Internet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turquoise

Ain’t I great?}

Pamukkale terraces are calcium and hence pure white. The sulfur terraces are colorful.

Sulfur fountain

This natural wonder of Pamukkale was too big and too beautiful to escape notice of the ancient powers-that-be – kings, Emperors, Sultans. It has been a ‘tourist attraction’ from ancient times. People came for thermal ‘spa’ treatment, and then lived on there till they died. That is why the Roman settlement Hierapolis, on top of the Pamukkale hill, has one of the biggest ‘necropolises’.

(Greeks and Romans did not bury their dead. They cremated the dead, put the ashes in urns and buried the urns in the tombs of the necropolis.)

Hierapolis

The ‘Apollo Fountain’ which was displaced from its original site and came down the hill is an enchanting sight. The marble columns lining up the fountain have fallen into the shallow water. The naturally formed swimming pool, thus allows you to ‘swim with the artifacts’ in the sacred thermal pool.

The Apollo Fountain

In the far distance, we could see the Roman theater, cut into the side of the hill. It was too high up and too far away for me to climb. Moreover, I have seen Roman theaters at many places. They are fairly ubiquitous. So, I decided to sit by the side of the Apollo fountain and let Avi and the guide tire themselves out.

The Hierapolis amphitheater

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/hierapolis-pamukkale.htm

Since no words of mine can convey an idea of Pamukkale, I would rather let the photos speak.

Pamukkale travertines

The Turks, whose ancestors migrated into Turkey in the 11the century from Central Asia, seem to have inherited many of their prejudices and preferences from the descendents of Trojans, with whom they have intermingled and been assimilated. Thus they claim descent both from Oriental Turkish tribes as well as from the Occidental Trojans.

The turquoise pools

Just as their country straddles both the continents, Europe as well as Asia, The Turks also straddle two cultures, Oriental as well as Occidental. Their facial features, coloring, way of life, everything has elements from both the continents.

They certainly are having the best of both the worlds.

They seem to have inherited a deep distrust of the Greeks from their Trojan ancestors. They have shortened the quotation “Beware of the Greeks bearing gifts” to “Beware of the Greeks.” and are fond of using it both in and out of the context.

I am told that the Greeks reciprocate the feeling in equal proportion. The Cyprus conflict did nothing to diminish this animosity between the Turks and the Greeks.

We are often told ‘not to look a gift horse in the mouth’, meaning that one should not try to assess the value of a gift. However, I think, the Trojan horse was one gift the Trojans should have looked in the mouth, nostrils, stomach, everywhere, knowing that it came from the enemies.

This makes me feel a deep sympathy for the Trojans. They were as gullible as we are.

The 'cotton' of 'cotton castle'

Turks, though at loggerheads with the Greeks, claim kinship with the ancient Romans, because according to Greco-Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus were descendents of Aeneas, a Trojan, who fled to Italy after the Trojan War.

Hence Kemal Ataturk proudly said after the Gallipoli battle, “We have avenged the Trojan defeat now.”

Presumably, Greece was on the side of the Allies because the Greek island Samos was the base from which supplies were sent to troops at Gallipoli.

There certainly seems to be a reason, why there are 6000 Roman ruins in Turkey, partly excavated and lovingly preserved, while there are hardly any Greek ruins, though Greece had established many colonies on the western Turkey coast.

Ephesus

The most impressive and important Roman ruin in Turkey is Ephesus.

The marble road with Selchuk library at the end

How important and prosperous the city was in Roman times can be gathered from the fact that even the public roads were paved with large slabs of pure white marble. In fact the whole city – roads, houses, temples, Baths – was built with marble. Perhaps only the underground structures like water-pipes were made of clay.

The guide said that there is a lot of marble in Turkey. It reminded me of a Sankrit ‘shloka’, which says that sandalwood is so abundantly available in the ‘Malaygiri’ forests that the tribal women use it as firewood.

The city also had the wonderful ‘Selcuk’ library, one of the three famous libraries of the ancient world. (The other two being at Alexandria and at Pergamum) This is one more clue to the importance of the city.

{The word ‘Selcuk’ must be the most misspelled and mispronounced word in the world. I have heard and read at least 10 different combinations – Selkuk, Seljuk, Selyuk, Selsus, Celcus, Celsus, Celsuk, Celjuk, Celyuk, Celcuc. The Turkish people call it Selchuk, ‘ch’ as in ‘chat’.}

Not to mention, (and unmentionable) the public latrines and the brothel, also somehow indicate the importance of the city.

Unfortunately, the most important indicator, the Artemis Temple, which was one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Ancient World’, does not exist anymore. Only a lone, reconstructed pillar bears a mute testimony to the bygone wonder.

The buildings and roads at Hierapolis were NOT built with marble. They were made of bricks and stones. Hierapolis did not have a Library either.

In short, whereas every Roman city had an amphitheater and public Baths, only very important cities had Library and marbled roads.

{The guide told us that the Turkish Baths were directly derived from the Roman Baths.}

Nike

The guide showed us a ‘Bas-relief’ statue of Greek Goddess ‘Nike’. ‘She had two more sisters’ he said. He asked us whether we knew who they were.

I tried to remember the ‘sisters’ in Greek Pantheon. There were the Seven Sisters – Pleiads, there were the Gorgons with snaky hair, some Muses, a lot of Nereids, some ‘Weird Sisters’. However, I just could not remember Nike’s sisters.

Sheepishly, I acknowledged my ignorance to the guide.

He laughed.

“The two sisters of Nike are Reebok, and Adidas” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Naughty creature !!! Playing such jokes on unsuspecting, ‘gullible’, tourists!!

I would rather not say anything about the ‘House of Virgin Mary’ that we visited. It was a charming spot, but whether actually it was the house of Virgin Mary is questionable. Please follow the link below.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/hierapolis-pamukkale.htm

After reading it, decide for yourself whether to believe in the authenticity of the house.