Pamukkale meaning "Cotton Castle" in Turkish derived its name from the chalk precipitated at the rate of 0.55 kgs per second from the hot springs which contains large amount of hydrogen carbonate and calcium. The effect of these natural phenomena has left thick white layers of limestone and travertine cascading down the mountain slopes resembling a frozen waterfall.

The ancient city of Heirapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total 2700m long ad 160m high. Pamukkale went unprotected for decades in the late 20th century and hotels were built on top of the site destroying part of the remains of Heirapolis before it and Heirapolis were designated a World Heritage Site. It is the belief amongst the locals that the water has healing powers that brought droves of visitors to the site.

There are two entrances to the travertine, North entrance and South Entrance and we chose to go through the Southern one as it is easier to go downhill than up. Those who come on foot would have to go through the North entrance as there is no transportation from the village to the South entrance which is quite a distance to get to. Entrance fee is 20YTL

On the way to the travertine, we passed the gate to Heirapolis and the theatre which is reasonably intact to our right. But we came to see the travertine and it was a magnificent sight indeed. The terraces were great to look at, while Alison and Adrian was busy wading in the water, I was kept busy taking pictures. I didn’t fancy taking my boots off in any case, not after wearing the same pair of socks for the last three  days!

We ended at Mehmet’s Heaven for lunch after the good dinner we had last night. Lunch was good but a little bit expensive as we had soup as well. We had an inkling that he overcharged us for Adrian’s rice at 7.50YTL. After saying our goodbyes to Mehmet it was time to drive the 220kms to Antalya. The first 70kms the road was all dual carriageway until Comka and between comka and Yusofca a total of 8 miles the road was narrow with bad surface. Thereafter it was two way traffic and at times where there are steep hills three lane shave been provided for overtaking uphill.

We ended in Antalya just as it was getting dark and I decided to follow a tourist bus into town where I was certain the bus was going to lead me to where the hotels were. True enough it did but we made a mistake by stopping at the first reasonable looking hotel the Olbia but for 80YTL one shouldn’t complain especially when provided with a mini suite. There are loads of hotel further up the road along the beach front.