Welcome to Trailmonkey's Turkish Adventures 2

Your Virtual Guide to Adventure Outdoors!

Turkish
Adventures II

Maps & Trails
The Travertine Splendor & Roman Ruins of: Pamukkale
Istanbul: The Backpacker's Basic Guide
Istanbul: Hagia Sophia Tour
Sultan Ahmet Cami-The Blue Mosque; An Istanbul Must-see
The Grand Bazaar And Vicinity Survival Guide, part3
Trailmonkey's Guide Through: TOPKAPI PALACE
Getting Around Istanbul
Historical Background of Istanbul / Constantinople

Maps & Trails

The Travertine Splendor & Roman Ruins of:

Pamukkale

Click on any picture for a full sized view!

Directions To Get Started:

Back at the E5 crossroads, go east 800 meters (2,600 feet) along the road from the synagogue. Off to the north, about 50 meters (165 feet) is a Byzantine crucifortn church, and 250 meters (820 feet) northwest of it is another in basilica form. East of these two buildings, 700 meters (2,300 feet), is a baths. To the northeast of the gymnasium are burial mounds. On the south side of the E5, 300 meters (1,000 feet) east of the mudbrick monument, is the area of the Roman agora. East again, 150 meters (500 feet), is a vaulted substructure, then 50 meters (165 feet) to the east is another building that is probably Roman. Southeast from here, 200 meters (660 feet), are the stadium and, further south, the theater and a Byzantine fortress. East of the stadium, 350 meters (1,150 feet), is an Odeon. One important find of 1985 was a childs’ grave of the tenth century BC.

PAMUKKALE

At the top of the ridge are the ruins of Hierapolis. The minibus stops in an open square, not far from a Roman baths of the first century, dating from the reign of Tiberius when the city was built after an earthquake. Now the museum (entrance fee 7,OOOTL), the grounds of the baths feature a display of statuary, inscribed stelae and other recovered items. During summer months a mobile bank is likely to be standing near the entrance to the museum, offering foreign exchange facilities.

Along the lower, northeastern end of the square are the premises of the Pamukkale Motel, which includes a restaurant and changing cabins on the right. Behind the motel, on the left, is a nymphaeum, and above this on the hillside is the site of the Temple to Apollo. Higher and to the east is the theater, clearly visible from the square, and a roadway allows tour buses to drive up to the top. Above and to the east of the theater is a Byzantine church, and above again there are sections of the city walls.

On the right of the motel is a ruined Byzantine basilica, and above, on a line with the nymphaeum, was the entrance to the plutonium, in which the noxious fumes from an underground stream inspired an oracle's prophecies. Above the basilica, on the hill, is the site of the agora, and away to the right of the basilica, continuing in the direction of a colonnaded street, is the South Gate.

On the left or northwestern side of the main square, the remains of the colonnaded street lead northerly to the North Gate of the city. Below this, running from the square, a road leads along the ridge of the plateau to a number of hotels and motels, all of which have their curative water and pools. The road continues for three kilometers (1.9 miles) to the village of Karahayit. At one point it meets and runs parallel with the colonnaded street where it leads through ruined public buildings and private houses, among which a basilica is conspicuous, before entering, by way of an Arch of Domitian, a necropolis of many impressive tombs. On the hillside, well above the necropolis, and to the east of it, is the fifth-century Martyrium of St Philip, dedicated to the apostle who died here for his faith in AD 80.

The Roman agora is behind the museum and in this area there are other motels with their pools, with the Ministry of Tourism's information office nearby.

LADIK (LAODICEA)

The church of this ancient city was one of the biblical Seven Churches of Asia. St. Paul's stricture on Laodicean Christianity has provided the English language with the epithet 'laodicean', meaning neither positive nor negative, neither hot nor cold. The city is situated below a hill near the village of Eskihisar, with its citadel on the hilltop. The Roman ruins include a stadium, gymnasium, odeon and theater.

APHRODISIAS

Aphrodisias stands on a low plateau under Baba Dag, the mountain where the marble for its buildings was quarried. The site is under excavation and reconstruction, and many sections are roped off to prevent visitors from entering, nevertheless, there is much of great interest to see. From the car park entrance ticket (fee 5,OOOTL plus 5,OOOTL for the museum), a short roadway leads into a square that was the village of Geyre until this was demolished and the inhabitants transplanted to a new village of Geyre nearby. On the left of the square is a cafe and a reconstructed timbered building, and on the right, on the northeast comer, is the museum.

Take the path to the left just below the cafil A columned structure is next to a Byzantine chapel with a number of sarcophagi. There are many of these stone coffins off the approach road to the square, and perhaps the line of the city's walls was there, with the tombs outside the walls. The pathway skirts the headquarters and workshops of the archaeological expedition to reach the theater. The area is roped, but you can still climb the hill to enter the theater at the level of its uppermost tiers, and then look down to the columned facade, dressing rooms, proscenium (stage) and orchestra. in front is a paved court with a stoa and a circular altar, a gymnasium and, on the right-hand side, a columned temple or basilica with an ornamental gateway. What could be a second agora is there, too. All this makes an impressive view from above.

The area on the right of the theater, as you descend, is also roped, where a large and lengthy main agora is under excavation and reconstruction. You move on round to another portico, that of Tiberius, to the area of Hadrian's Baths, a complex that includes a gymnasium, a palaestra (exercise ground) and a columned pool or ornamental fountain. The tiled court of the palaestra has a number of tiles inscribed in Greek.