Pamukkale and Hierapolis Guide: Travertine Terraces and Ancient City

Pamukkale's snow-white terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by the hot springs. The area holds 17 hot springs with temperatures ranging from 35 °C to 100 °C. The calcium-rich water travels about 320 metres to the head of the terraces; as it reaches the surface, carbon dioxide de-gasses and calcium carbonate is deposited. The Turkish name 'cotton castle' comes from this dazzling white coating. The run of terraces stretches roughly 6 km between the villages of Pamukkale and Karahayıt and sits about 200 m above the plain. Which basins hold water or are walkable on a given day depends on the season; I will not state the current condition without source-based verification, and if I do not know, I say so.

Above the travertine plateau rises Hierapolis, meaning 'Sacred City'. The city was founded around 190 BC by Eumenes II of Pergamon and grew into one of the great cities of the Roman province of Asia. The German archaeologist Carl Humann carried out the first excavations there in June and July 1887 and published his notes in his 1889 book. UNESCO inscribed the combined natural and cultural site of Hierapolis-Pamukkale on the World Heritage List in 1988 under criteria (iii), (iv) and (vii); the property covers 1,077 hectares. The tight integration between the natural landscape and the Greco-Roman and Byzantine ruins underpins the recognition. I will not state which structures are open on a given day without source-based verification; for missing details I say I do not know.

Hierapolis was a health centre, especially under the Roman Empire; it had more than fifteen baths, and the great baths were centred on the natural thermal pools. What is today called the 'Antique Pool', or popularly 'Cleopatra's Pool', was reportedly shaped by an earthquake in the 7th century: the marble portico of Ionic arrangement fell into the spring at that time, and the columns now lie submerged. According to sources, the pool water is 36-57 °C, its pH value is 5.8, and it contains bicarbonate, sulphate and carbon dioxide. The story that Cleopatra swam here is not historically confirmed and remains legend. I will not state the current bathing conditions, extra fee, or hours without source-based verification; if I do not know, I say so.

The Hierapolis theatre was probably built under Emperor Hadrian after the earthquake of AD 60. Its facade is about 91 metres long and stands at its full height; the 50 rows of seats in the cavea are divided into seven parts by eight staircases. The necropolis stretching outside the city is one of the best preserved in Turkey; its roughly 1,200 tombs were built mostly of local limestone, some of marble. Most tombs date from the late Hellenistic period, but there are also a considerable number from the Roman and early Christian periods. Outside the city, above the north-eastern walls, rises the Martyrium of Saint Philip, dated to the 5th century. I will not state which section is open on a given day without source-based verification; for missing information I say I do not know.

The nearest town to Pamukkale is Denizli, about 20 km south, with frequent buses from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. According to Wikivoyage, minibuses run from Denizli bus station to Pamukkale and the trip takes about 20 minutes; since the current platform, fare and times may change, I will not state them without source-based verification. Nearby lies the ancient city of Laodicea on the river Lycus (Çürüksu). It was founded by the Seleucid king Antiochus II Theos between 261 and 253 BC in honour of his wife Laodice; grown rich on the black-wool trade, it became one of Asia's important commercial cities and is one of the seven churches of Revelation. In 2013 it was added to Turkey's Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. If details about today's visiting conditions for the ruins are missing, I say I do not know.