Reminiscence from Anatolia- Part Ten: Stuck in Pamukkale
A couple of blocks away from Isa Bey Mosque is the Saint John’s Basilica… it is an important historical site. It is believed that Saint John spent his last days in Selcuk and was buried at the site… it is also believed that Saint John wrote his gospel at this very site.
Turkey… though predominantly Muslim… has a plethora of sites, which tell the story of its Christian past… the more I traveled around… the more did I realize that Turkey’s past is linked more with Christianity than Islam… take the case of Cappadocia… the early Christians created fabulous underground cities therein, to escape the wrath of pagans.
A brief walk within the ruins of basilica led me to this spot from where I got panoramic view of Selcuk city… Selcuk is a very green and peaceful city… with a slow pace of life… gentle and friendly people. Far way I could also see the Selcuk citadel… which is out of bounds today due to its crumbling walls. The views were mesmerizing, so much that I lost my sense of time and bearing and slept on one of the walls of basilica.
I stayed back there till evening… surviving on few gulps of water from the water bottle I had carried for the day. It was getting darker and I was getting famished… I got down from the ruin and walked down towards the market place… walking past a few doner kebab shops… looking where I can find the best bargain. And finally, I found a road side café which sold the doner sandwich only for 2 Turkish Lira. I ordered 2 sandwiches. The owner, a chubby fellow, was surprised- I hadn’t order a tea with it… and then offered me a tea-pot for free… he said something in broken English… how can you have doner sandwich without tea… be my guest.
I reached the guest house at around 8 pm… most of my friends had gone for dinner… I planned to sleep early and leave early morning by 5 am bus to my next destination- Pamukkale. I left a note for Hoda… wishing her all the best. Hoda was soon heading to Aleppo, wherein she would be working with a German NGO for preservation of historic buildings. It was nice time spent with her…
I woke up in the morning… at around 4 am… took a shower and headed straight for breakfast… I was joined by the owner of the Guest House, Harry… he asked me where I am headed to… I told Pamukkale and then to Konya… I asked him if I can complete Pamukkale in the afternoon and head for Konya the same day… He told me that it would be a bit difficult… but then said something prophetic… travelers find ways to travel and I am sure that you too would find your way…
He told me about a Guest House in Konya… and asked me to check it out… he also told me that if I carry his pamphlet to this guest house… he would give me a discount of 2.5 Turkish Lira… I jumped on to the offer… I surely am on the path of becoming a true, hard-nosed traveler.
On the bus to Pamukkale- I met two Japanese girls… they were my co-passengers on Istanbul-Selcuk bus, too. They smiled and I smiled back… we started chatting for a while… they were from Tokyo… had just finished their graduation and were traveling in Eastern Europe and Turkey… they wanted to go to Pamukkale and then fly back to Istanbul and then to Eastern Europe…
Looking out from window… I could see a number of road side stores that were selling pickled olives and oranges… Harry told me that they are local delicacies and I should buy one bottle if it’s possible… the pickled Mediterranean delights… sadly as a backpacker it wasn’t possible, or so did I think till I met a cyclist in Cappadocia.
The bus reached Pamukkale at around 11 am… my plans were to see Pamukkale as fast as possible… and then take an evening bus to Konya… it was ambitious, especially amidst Bairam holidays… the buses are packed, booked weeks ago…
When the bus stopped… the steward asked, who wants to leave Pamukkale today itself… I jumped at the offer… and raised my hands… to my astonishment an American, and three Spanish tourists also wanted to see Pamukkale in few hours time and leave for other destinations.
Pamukkale is a small town, it literally means ‘Cotton Castle’ in Turkish… and the only reason as to why it is famous is because of Travertines. Travertines is a natural phenomenon... calcium deposits all over… creating pools of water here and there… the scene is surreal and unbelievable… one feels that he is in some different land… perhaps the polar ice caps… or may be some other planet. Further ahead from the Travertines are the ruins of Heirapolis.
Beyond the two… Pamukkale doesn’t have much to offer. And therefore a number of tourists think of it as a small stop in their itinerary… one day… and sometimes few hours… before proceeding to other spots- Antalya, Ankara and in my case Konya.
The steward took us to different travel agencies to find whether there are seats available for any of the above destinations. He confided that Konya is not a regular tourist spot and therefore I may get a seat to Konya… but Ankara, Cappadocia and Antalya would be a difficult case.
But as we realized later… there was absolutely no seat to any of the places… and we for all practical purpose stuck in Pamukkale. One travel agent, however, offered me a seat to Konya at 1 pm the next day… I told him to hold on… till I have exhausted all my options.
The Spanish planned to see Pamukkale and leave for Denizli a near-by big town… he was taking a calculated risk. If he was stuck in Denizli, he might have to come back to Pamukkale… The American was is no hurry, he booked a ticket to Antalya by a bus leaving after two days… and that left me to devise my own strategy.
I dumped my backpack in one travel agents shop, and went out to eat something… I was famished… and before I could strategize… I needed to eat something…
I met Sultan there… he was answer to all my questions.
Turkey… though predominantly Muslim… has a plethora of sites, which tell the story of its Christian past… the more I traveled around… the more did I realize that Turkey’s past is linked more with Christianity than Islam… take the case of Cappadocia… the early Christians created fabulous underground cities therein, to escape the wrath of pagans.
A brief walk within the ruins of basilica led me to this spot from where I got panoramic view of Selcuk city… Selcuk is a very green and peaceful city… with a slow pace of life… gentle and friendly people. Far way I could also see the Selcuk citadel… which is out of bounds today due to its crumbling walls. The views were mesmerizing, so much that I lost my sense of time and bearing and slept on one of the walls of basilica.
I stayed back there till evening… surviving on few gulps of water from the water bottle I had carried for the day. It was getting darker and I was getting famished… I got down from the ruin and walked down towards the market place… walking past a few doner kebab shops… looking where I can find the best bargain. And finally, I found a road side café which sold the doner sandwich only for 2 Turkish Lira. I ordered 2 sandwiches. The owner, a chubby fellow, was surprised- I hadn’t order a tea with it… and then offered me a tea-pot for free… he said something in broken English… how can you have doner sandwich without tea… be my guest.
I reached the guest house at around 8 pm… most of my friends had gone for dinner… I planned to sleep early and leave early morning by 5 am bus to my next destination- Pamukkale. I left a note for Hoda… wishing her all the best. Hoda was soon heading to Aleppo, wherein she would be working with a German NGO for preservation of historic buildings. It was nice time spent with her…
I woke up in the morning… at around 4 am… took a shower and headed straight for breakfast… I was joined by the owner of the Guest House, Harry… he asked me where I am headed to… I told Pamukkale and then to Konya… I asked him if I can complete Pamukkale in the afternoon and head for Konya the same day… He told me that it would be a bit difficult… but then said something prophetic… travelers find ways to travel and I am sure that you too would find your way…
He told me about a Guest House in Konya… and asked me to check it out… he also told me that if I carry his pamphlet to this guest house… he would give me a discount of 2.5 Turkish Lira… I jumped on to the offer… I surely am on the path of becoming a true, hard-nosed traveler.
On the bus to Pamukkale- I met two Japanese girls… they were my co-passengers on Istanbul-Selcuk bus, too. They smiled and I smiled back… we started chatting for a while… they were from Tokyo… had just finished their graduation and were traveling in Eastern Europe and Turkey… they wanted to go to Pamukkale and then fly back to Istanbul and then to Eastern Europe…
Looking out from window… I could see a number of road side stores that were selling pickled olives and oranges… Harry told me that they are local delicacies and I should buy one bottle if it’s possible… the pickled Mediterranean delights… sadly as a backpacker it wasn’t possible, or so did I think till I met a cyclist in Cappadocia.
The bus reached Pamukkale at around 11 am… my plans were to see Pamukkale as fast as possible… and then take an evening bus to Konya… it was ambitious, especially amidst Bairam holidays… the buses are packed, booked weeks ago…
When the bus stopped… the steward asked, who wants to leave Pamukkale today itself… I jumped at the offer… and raised my hands… to my astonishment an American, and three Spanish tourists also wanted to see Pamukkale in few hours time and leave for other destinations.
Pamukkale is a small town, it literally means ‘Cotton Castle’ in Turkish… and the only reason as to why it is famous is because of Travertines. Travertines is a natural phenomenon... calcium deposits all over… creating pools of water here and there… the scene is surreal and unbelievable… one feels that he is in some different land… perhaps the polar ice caps… or may be some other planet. Further ahead from the Travertines are the ruins of Heirapolis.
Beyond the two… Pamukkale doesn’t have much to offer. And therefore a number of tourists think of it as a small stop in their itinerary… one day… and sometimes few hours… before proceeding to other spots- Antalya, Ankara and in my case Konya.
The steward took us to different travel agencies to find whether there are seats available for any of the above destinations. He confided that Konya is not a regular tourist spot and therefore I may get a seat to Konya… but Ankara, Cappadocia and Antalya would be a difficult case.
But as we realized later… there was absolutely no seat to any of the places… and we for all practical purpose stuck in Pamukkale. One travel agent, however, offered me a seat to Konya at 1 pm the next day… I told him to hold on… till I have exhausted all my options.
The Spanish planned to see Pamukkale and leave for Denizli a near-by big town… he was taking a calculated risk. If he was stuck in Denizli, he might have to come back to Pamukkale… The American was is no hurry, he booked a ticket to Antalya by a bus leaving after two days… and that left me to devise my own strategy.
I dumped my backpack in one travel agents shop, and went out to eat something… I was famished… and before I could strategize… I needed to eat something…
I met Sultan there… he was answer to all my questions.
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