Day 7 Pamukkale & Hieropolis

We headed out of Izmir today early to beat the traffic and were immediately stuck in a traffic jam. Yorgo, our driver assistant, got off the bus and started directing traffic so we could get clear and turn around. Turns out some woman had gotten hit by a bus and was still lying on the ground. He hopped back on and we were on our way. After an hour and a half we stopped for a bathroom break. I had a fresh squeezed OJ and some Turkish delight to take home. One has hazelnut, one pistachio and the other sesame seeds. We left right on time.

With Yorgo going up and down the aisle counting. Five minutes on the road and it turns out we left someone! There are four Iranians from California, a mother, two grown daughters and the aunt. The mother had gotten back off to use the WC and we left without her. So we all laughed and went back for her!!

In our group of 33 there are two Canadians, Carolyn and Ellen, whom I went swimming with in Canakkale and shared some wine. There are three Indian couples, Ravi and Ra..... Who are semi-retired surgeon and psychiatrist near Worcester, have two daughters, one in Chicago and one a nurse in Philadelphia. She said her mother and her brother came to live with them for nine years after her father died (talking about Nana having lived with my family).

Harish and his wife M.... -she had a general practice and I think he was in like medical  supplies -live in Norfolk near Foxborough.  They have three daughters. Harish and I had a nice conversation about India, colonialism - in most all cases the conquered country is poorer as the raw materials get taken out of country, manufactured products, for example cotton, and then brought back in country to be resold at higher prices. He also talked about being introduced to his wife -they've been together almost 50 years - by family members and they court to decide. Both these couples seem so wonderful and solicitous of each other - the husbands and wives, I mean. There is another Indian couple but I haven't really met them.

Then there is Brian from Philly who is in tech business I think. A Polish woman is traveling with her son who just got a master's degree in computer science so he picked this trip. They are from Chicago. Three Vietnamese women are traveling together: one runs a restaurant in Minneapolis, and the other two are from CA in tech business. A Chinese couple who live in Wilmington work for J P Morgan. He's from Xinjiang province on far northwestern China where Uighur, Muslim sect, are predominant. She's from Shaanxi near Beijing. Alan and Michael are from Chicago, I think. He looks very young for almost 60! I mentioned the four Iranian women, I think. there's another couple from New Jersey but that's all I know about them.

I forgot another couple and their ten year old girl from somewhere. Haven't talked to them. and then a couple from Florida who live in Atlanta. We had a nice talk at dinner about education. Their daughter has a doctorate in special Ed. Serap, our guide, is recently married; her husband is in construction. She studied and worked in archeology.

At the hot springs I went with Carolyn and Ellen and we added in after walking gingerly over the calcium beds. It was pretty rocky and slippery and crowded with many people almost falling in. So we only stayed in a few minutes, dried our feet and moved. Later there was a regular swimming pool that Carolyn and Ellen went in and said was nice. I didn't really have time and didn't bring my swimming outfit anyway. I walked back where the light blue colored pools cascaded down and water was gushing out of the wall. I took some pictures there and then knelt down to get the water on my knees and feet. I asked a Russian woman who was traveling with her son to take my picture. We chatted awhile. Maria and Valentine are from Siberia. She said there is still snow there now! She studied English and spoke well. Valentine could understand what I said but not speak as well. We talked about hostels in Russia of which there are none. She is from a university town with 9 schools. She said the students come from all over but can't really travel around Russia because hotels are the only option. I think her town was something like Tosk?

I then paid the 5 TL to go in the Roman bath ruins where there were artifacts, jewelry, statues. Sarcophogi (sp?) - means flesh eater as they are lined with limestone which quickly dissolves flesh left on the body. It was nice and cool which was worth the 5TL admission as the sun was beastly. I finally got to the big pool where people were soaking in the thermal waters and had a beer where Brian was waiting for food. I hopped the shuttle down the long road past the Necropolis where I could take pictures from the window to the north entrance where the bus was waiting. I only got a photo from the distance of the amphitheater. This was a huge city at one time and only a small part of it has been excavated. Turkey is fascinating archaeologically speaking because it was such a crossroads of various civilization. Once you start digging somewhere you end up finding layer after layer of previous settlements. Some ruins we visited had Roman numeral signs on a bank up to IX indicating different settlements one on top of the other! This could keep archeologists busy for hundreds of years! Serap just told me that was the ruins at Troy.

We headed over the high mountain passes down to the Aegean Sea at Antayla, a big resort especially for Germans who have bought lots of homes around here; also Russians, Dutch and English. The beaches are pebbly like the Riviera and very calm safe waters.