Cappadocia to Pammukale

We leave the enchantment of Fairy Chimneys and Beehive houses and travel westward on a very long trip to a place with it’s own special magic called Pammukale where the mineral salts from the natural springs deposit into a bizarre ‘frozen’ like state.

Before then, we pass through Aksaray, Konya and Denizli (Google Earth might help here) what could be termed as the bread basket of Turkey with its agricultural land that looks a lot like Southern Alberta. Staple crops like Corn as well as potatoes, sugar beet, pumpkin and watermelon, sunflowers and cotton.  The pumpkin here is grown as a rotation crop for the potatoes and the seeds are what are valued.  The flesh of the pumpkin is used for animal feed.  

Sheep in the meadow

We didn't see much irrigation 

Harvesting involved a lot of manual labor

Hay fields

Tomatoes!!!

More harvest

Lots of windmills.

When in Konya, we stopped at the shrine to Mevlana Celaleddin, a Muslim mystic and founder of the sect of the Whirling Dervishes we saw previously.  There is a crush of tourists mixed with Turks paying homage to Mevlana. 

The Gardens at the Mevlena Mausoleum

It’s a long day as we travelled approximately 750 Km on the bus.  It’s a pleasant and restful drive however, and the time passes quickly.  We have the opportunity to have a passing glimpse of everyday of everyday life in Turkey. 

Street vendors with produce

All kinds of traffic

Cartload of Watermelon

We traverse a pass into a different valley and as the climate changes, we feel the humidity rise.  Olives and Pomegranates appear as we turn north from Denizli to Pammukale, which means “Cotton Castle” because of the look of the mineral pools. 

Our group is losing some of its members now as some are transferring for passage further south.  At our dinner, we become aware that we will miss each other and it is then that we realize that friendships have formed through the shared experience of the country and culture.  Not just of Turkey, but also our respective home countries as well as the stories of other places visited.  In this group of 36 (a few were added along the way), I don’t think that there is a spot on the globe that one of us hasn't touched in some way, including Antarctica.  Quite amazing really. 

Hamming it up for the camera

My new friend Shae from New Zealand

After dinner many of us partake of the tiered pools at the hotel, each one getting cooler as it spills to the next level. You can grab a handful of the mineral mud at the bottom of the pool and massage it onto your skin … it really does feel fantastic.  We rest at the edge of the terrace and are able to look down on a belly dancing performance in the open air lounge below us … fabulous fun!!!