Rewinding a Bit

One place we visited in Turkey which I didn't have pictures of with my camera was Pamukkale. Pamukkale means "cotton castle" in Turkish, and if you are a Downton Abbey viewer you will recognize the name of the visiting Turkish ambassador in the first season, Pamuk. 

Mike did take pictures with his phone, though, and I finally remembered to download them onto my computer so that I could share them here. 

Hot springs come up from the ground, and the water flows down leaving calcium carbonate deposits along the way, which harden over time into the travertine terraces. 

There is an area which in ancient times was considered the very gate of Hades because of the heat and gases; above a cave was a space where the poisonous gases from below would kill animals (or people) instantly if breathed. The priests figured out a way to go into the underground space without dying (holding their breath, or finding pockets of clean air) and come back out, seemingly miraculously. 

We came across no such toxic gases, but we did enjoy the lovely view and the history of the white mineral cliffs and warm pools.