After another all night bus, we arrived in Pamukkale before 7am – luckily we found somewhere to store our bags and wait until things opened up! Pamukkale is famous for its hot pools, terraces and the ruins of Hierapolis.

After a picnic breakfast of bread and cheese we wandered over to the travertines  – round terraces on the side of a hill filled with thermal water.  To get to the top, you had to take off your shoes and walk barefoot up the hill – lovely when we reached the warm water and painful when we were at the cold water!  On the way up we stopped to paddle in the different pools and dip our feet in the hot river running beside us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we reached the top, we spent some time exploring the ruins of Hierapolis.  We saw the theatre, abandoned temples and ruins before enjoying the view back down over Pamukkale.

 

 

 

 

 

After our wanderings, we headed to the Ancient Pool.  Apparently this pool was formed in an earthquake, and here you can swim in hot water around ruins of columns and stones that are in the water.  It was a great way to relax!

 

 

 

After our soak, we headed back down the terraces and made our way to our bus for our next stop – the town of Selcuk, which is the gateway to Ephesus.