The modern Turkish town of Pammukkale sits at the base of the acropolis where Hierapolis, an ancient resort town once ruled. The hill with the ruins has a façade of white calcium deposits, which is one reason for the modern name Pammukkale, meaning cotton castle. This calcium rich spring water is what also drew the ancients of the classical era. Legend has it that Cleopatra herself bathed in the pools of Hierapolis.
The Ruins
Most of the ancient city was devastated and destroyed over the ages by earthquake. What remains are remnants of a once glorious city that drew people to it from nearby Laodicea. Besides the hot springs, the city also boasted an entrance to hell. This is a vent where noxious gases escape the earth’s crust. This meant that in addition to people visiting the city for their health, they also visited to lay their dead to rest at the large necropolis behind the city.
The major ruins today include a large theater with partially reconstructed back wall, which is pretty spectacular. Remnants of the temple to Apollo sit further down the hill, and ancient gates and walls can be found encircling the city.
Another major building that has been revitalized is the old bath house. It is very big, as is to be expected in a resort town. Today it is used as a museum housing many artifacts from throughout the archaeological site. One gallery displays stone artwork from the theater. Another has magnificent sepulchers.
From the theater, the necropolis is visible up the hill with one important site near its entrance. This is the monument to Philip’s martyrdom. Hierapolis is where the early saint was crucified. This city is also most likely the source for St. John’s comment to the Laodiceans about being lukewarm. That’s because of the hot springs.
The Pools of Hierapolis
The Pool of Cleopatra is open for the public to take a dip in for an extra fee. It is not the original location. The crystalline water clearly shows the main marble road. This means that back a couple hundred years ago, the hot springs were flowing somewhere else in the city. This is easy to imagine since there are calcium deposits all over the place with channels of flowing water. Over time, the deposits would have built up differently and flooded different places at the site. So, to take a dip in the pool where Cleopatra did is not possible today.
The White Castle
The hot springs’ water flows to the front of the hill Hierapolis was built upon. Then it cascades down the hill leaving crusty white mineral deposits. These allow for pools and channels to form and create a spectacular façade on the hill’s face of flowing white stone. Certain parts of this are also open for visitors to experience. This, however, is not an additional fee. Guests may take off their shoes and walk in the pools.
It is lukewarm water. However, some pools were warmer and others downright cold. The stone is smooth in some places and rough and jagged in others. You can even walk down out of the archaeological park through the pools on the hillside. These travertine terraces wrap around the whole front of the pools. However, today they are managed to make the maximum impact for guests. Being there in the off season, only part of the terraces has water flowing. I assume that during the high season the diversion gates are opened allowing water to flow across the whole hillside.
