PAMUKKALE ( HIERAPOLIS)

Pamukkale has always been a very popular settlement where the hot springs were believed to have healing powers, so the city became the center of a pagan cult in antiquity and a spa resort today. The city was on the borders of Caria, Lycia and Phrygia and had a mixed population. Citizens were usually involved in the wool industry and little has changed as it is still a textile center.The Natural Aspect The terraces were formed by running warm spring water, at a temperature of 35 °C / 102 °F containing calcium bicarbonate. When the water loses its carbon dioxide it leaves limestone deposits. These are of different colors and shapes in the form of terraces with pools, overhanging surfaces and fascinating stalactite formations. Pamukkale which means "cotton castle" in Turkish takes its name fromthese formations. According to scientists, if the water had always flowed at this rate, the terraces must have begun forming 14,000 years ago.A little further away from Pamukkale, near Karahayit village is another thermal spring, Kirmizi Su (the Red Water) with warmer water but less carbon dioxide gas where the running water creates a reddish effect different then the white cotton terraces of Pamukkale.<