Pamukkale
(Hierapolis) 
Pamukkale has always been a very popular settlement where the hot springs
were believed to have healing powers, so the city became the center of
a pagan cult in antiquity and a spa resort today.
The
city was on the borders of Caria, Lycia and Phrygia and had a mixed population.
Citizens were usually involved in the wool industry and little has changed
as it is still a textile center.
The
terraces were formed by running warm spring water, at a temperature of
35 �C / 102 �F containing calcium bicarbonate. When the water loses its
carbon dioxide it leaves limestone deposits. These are of different colors
and shapes in the form of terraces with pools, overhanging surfaces and
fascinating stalactite formations. Pamukkale, which means "cotton
castle" in Turkish, takes its name from these formations. According
to scientists, if the water had always flowed at this rate, the terraces
must have begun forming 14,000 years ago.
A little further away from Pamukkale, near Karahayit village is another
thermal spring, Kirmizi Su (the Red Water) with warmer water but less
carbon dioxide gas where the running water creates a reddish effect different
than the white cotton terraces of Pamukkale.
