The Cotton Palace

Proving that we are still young, travel-hardy adventurers, we caught a 2am flight out of Copenhagen to get the most out of every vacation day we took. It was a great chance to enjoy one last dinner with my parents, who were spending their last evening in Copenhagen before returning to the States. After a close-call layover in Istanbul and plenty of napping on a sunny train ride, we safely made our way to Denizli by early afternoon. Rallying despite a night of what can, at best, be called questionable sleep, we made it to destination #1 in our Turkish adventures.

Oh, hello, Pamukkale

Pamukkale: the Cotton Palace. Looking up at its sparkling cascades, white as fallen snow, sends a shiver through your toes, but the first cautious footsteps are rewarded with a warm, watery caress. There is nothing icy about this place. Clifftop thermal springs carrying calcite-laden water have left this pearly shade over millennia. Nature's handiwork can only be admired in the steep edges and gentle ripples of the calcite, seemingly frozen in motion. Terraced blue pools hug the hillside, lined with gooey white mud that squishes delightfully between your toes as you climb.

Turkish adventures, Day 1: Pamukkale and Hieropolis

This site has long been appreciated for its natural wonder. It was the site of an ancient cult. Then, in the 2nd century BC, the Attalid kings of Pergamom built the spa town of Hierapolis atop this site. The city changed hands to the Romans in 133 AD. Its Greco-Roman and Byzantine ruins include an amphitheater, a necropolis, religious sites devoted to various Roman gods, and early Christian churches. Pamukkale and Hieropolis were first included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1988.

Pamukkale, I hope we'll meet again.

It was a bit of a pity that the timing of our visit didn't fall a little more conveniently. Many of the smaller pools were empty by this point in the year. Spring is when the thermal springs flow most heavily, and when we'd recommend a visit. But even not at its peak, this site is definitely worth seeing, climbing, and wading through.

And what about the town of Denizli? We did face our challenges given our total lack of Turkish. Though Turkish uses Latin characters, we might have done well to pick up some basic vocabulary before the trip. However, walking the streets as a couple of Westerners was never an issue. The majority of locals dress in typical Western fashion, and the general atmosphere was very safe if hectic in a typically Turkish way. (There was also an inexplicable abundance of Arby's and KFC fast food chains.) We steered clear of those and did pretty well for ourselves with some typical Turkish fare.

The Turks know how to do dessert: calling it a day with Turkish tea and Turkish-style ice cream sandwiches— dondurma (Turkish ice cream) smushed between layers of baklava and flaky Turkish pastries, coated with hot chocolate syrup.

All in a day's travels.