Pamukkale – travertine terraces (Turkey)

Pamukkale is pronounced Pa-moo-kah-lay. This is a wonderful site in Turkey where there is a thermal spring that has left behind beautiful white terraces of travertine as it flows down the hill – but the parts you are likely to visit aren’t as beautiful as the bright blue pics you see online as the tourist areas are pretty dirty from all the people walking in them. In the distance you can see some clean areas, so I show both below.

One exceptional site is near Pamakkule is the ancient Roman spa of Hierapolis – where you can see the Antique Pool which has ruins including Roman columns in the water (everything fell down during an earthquake).

The terraces that are clean are beautiful bright white and blue.

But where you can visit, they are stained from all the tourists’ feet. The bottom of the pools is sharp and painful to walk on, but you can’t wear any footwear.