Hierapolis has an unusual natural feature— calcium carbonate cliffs. You can see these cliffs from a great distance on the highway as you are driving down the Lycus Valley. In the 20th century this became a major tourist attraction with hotels built right next to these cliffs. Fortunately, the government intervened, and had them removed. When there is insufficient water cascading down these cliffs, they become brown, so the wise thing to do was to provide such water on an ongoing basis, and thereby keeping Hierapolis a major tourist attraction. It was once again swarming with tourists in early June. The authorities have wisely banned tourists from walking on these slippery cliffs, except for a small designated area. The only other area on earth I know of that is similar is of course the white cliffs of Dover, but that is chalk, not the same as these cliffs. The Turkish word, pamukkale does indeed mean Cotton Castle, and you can tell from the map above how extensive the cliffs stretch on this site. It is well worth seeing. But there is much more to see at this locale, as we have already noted in previous posts. And yes that’s our intrepid guide and old friend Meltem, the best guide in all of Turkiye.
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