Robert and Stephanie dress up!
The Best of Turkey - A Rick Steves' Tour
Everywhere I looked there were people passing time enjoying each others company - just "hanging out"
A young vendor at Korkuteli Farmer's Market
Women shopping
Can't find the color you want?
He gave me his address, but I lost it
After breakfast in Antalya, we boarded the bus and drove toward Pamukkale. On the way we stopped in Korkuteli for its huge and lively farmer's market. I think that you could find just about anything you wanted at this market. I enjoyed watching the hustle and bustle of everyone shopping and watching all the people who seemed to go to the market just to chat with their friends.
My mom finds something she needed
He wanted this photo of himself
More men just "hanging out"
Here's one of my only regrets from this whole trip: I lost this man's name and address! I told him I would send him this photo. (I told other people along the way that I would send them photos and stayed true to my word.) His friends were probably telling him, "she'll never send it." Hopefully I haven't tarnished their view of Americans too much. ... I guess I'll have to return to Turkey someday, so I can find him in person!
(top)
Our next stop on the road to Pamukkale was the sleepy little town of Oguz. Oguz is definitely not a typical tourist stop ... but that's what made it an absolutely wonderful place to stop.
We stopped at this unassuming little cafe. All the men who were there got up from there chairs so that all of us could sit down and the owner served us apple tea.
The main street in Oguz
I learned a few new Turkish words from these Oguz children
Gathered to learn about poppies and opium
The cafe in Oguz
An Oguzli woman greets us from her window
Its worth noting that Oguz has a gorgeous mosque
As we were walking back through town, a brightly colored truck slowly approached. Seated in the back of the truck there was a young boy yelling something in Turkish over a loudspeaker. As the truck got closer, children ran from their houses. What was it? ... an ice cream truck, of course! (To me, moments like these are priceless.)
Susan P. and mom, Rosie, enjoying their ice cream!
The ice cream truck!
After sipping tea, we walked through town to the local poppy fields where Sidar's friend taught us about poppies and opium. (Honestly, I didn't listen very well ... I wandered away to interact with the children in town ... but I think there was something said about the government using the opium harvested from the poppies ... ????? I'm sure that one of my "cousins" could better write about the poppy lesson!)
Sidar's friend taught us about the poppy fields
Poppy pods
It's amazing to think about how long ago these words were written
We arrived at
Pamukkale in the afternoon. Before visiting the pools, we stopped at the ruins of Hieropolis. The Romans built the city of Hieropolis because the nearby waters of Pamakkale were thought to have curative powers. The sick went to the ancient city to seek out healing.
Many of those people seeking healing died in Hieropolis ... thus there is a large necropolis (cemetery) there. I actually found exploring this area more interesting than the travertine pools.
Pamukkale means "cotton castle." Calcium that has been deposited all over the cliffs looks like snow ... or cotton. It is an interesting place, but I think that the photos you will see in guide books make it look much more beautiful than it actually is. (It was raining when we were there. Maybe it's more spectacular in the sunlight.)
The swimming pool at Pamukkale
The Andersons at Pamukkale
Debbie, Susan K., and my mom at Pamukkale
The necropolis (cemetery) at Hieropolis
There is a swimming pool that has been filled with fallen Roman columns. Again, this was something that I thought looked more appealing in the guide books than in person ... plus the area was extremely crowded. We were given the opportunity to swim, but I chose not to.
