Turkey - Day 5

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We pack up this morning to check out of the Atinc Hotel as it is our last day in the western Anatolia part of Turkey. We leave the hotel about an hour earlier today because we have a long way to drive to Pamukkale in Denizli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Enroute to Pamukkale, we visit the site of Aphrodisias, an ancient city built in dedication to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Kenan Erim, an archaeologist of Turish origin, first obtained the sponsorship of National Geographic, then of other parties, to excavate the site of the city. By then, Aphrodisias had been buried under earth and a village was built on the mound. A more complete history of the discovery of Aphrodisias can be found here.

So what, you might think, yet another ancient city, more marble columns and carved marble. On closer inspection, the carvings here are, if possible, more intricate and detailed than the previous sites we had visited and indeed, far more plentiful, as Aphrodisias was also a school for marble sculpting, due to its proximity to a marble quarry. Hence, a walk through the site and the on-site museum unveiled a huge collection of carvings and sculptures so fine, so detailed, that one had to marvel at the skills of the artists.

The second distinguishing feature of Aphrodisias is that although there was some attempt to reconstruct some of the marble columns, there was far less of this compared to Pergamon and Ephesus, where some concrete was used to fill in the gaps during reconstruction. Instead, in Aphrodisias, most of the marble structures are intact, otherwise the large pieces of marble were left as they were found, placed ad hoc around the site. Granted, it got a tad boring after a while, just looking at bits of marble lying around, but it gave a sense of authenticity to the ruins.

We saw, among other structures and sites, the sprawling south Agora, the expansive theatre (complete with Emperor's chair), the Hadrianic Baths, what might have been the Bishops Palace, and then the Odeon or Boulouterion. Here, it was slightly smaller than the one we saw in Ephesus, but on the ends of each row of seats, the marble was carved into the shape of a (lion's?) paw, with considerable detail. Very impressive.

Then there was the Temple of Aphrodite, and what is probably the highlight of Aphrodisias: the stadium. Said to be the best-preserved ancient stadium, about 260m in length and with a capacity of 30,000. It was truly an amazing sight.

Last but not least of the structures was the Tetrapylon, otherwise referred to as the ornamental gate. A magnificient structure with unbelievably detailed carvings in the marble, it was re-erected by Kenan Erim, whose grave lies just metres from the Tetrapylon. The excavation works, according to our guide, took 30 years to complete, and two days after the site was officially opened to visitors, Kenan Erim died of a heart attack. Now that is what I call fulfilling your purpose in life.

At the end of our tour of Aphrodisias, we visited the Museum of Aphrodisias, which contains some of the sculptures of gods and goddesses, muses, philosophers, and are proof of the skills honed by the sculptures of the time. Like the marble structures outside, the robes, facial features, even the hair, contained remarkable detail, and one wonders what it would have been like to live in that time, with the beauty of such sculptures and carvings surrounding you each day.

This visit was followed by lunch at a restaurant, then continuing on our journey towards Pamukkale. However, by the time we got to Pamukkale, it was 4.30pm. Too dark and far too cold to venture to the top to see the ancient city of Hierapolis. It was beautiful from where we were standing, but we were shivering as it was, so Hierapolis and the water of the hot springs would have to wait. Perhaps on our next visit to Turkey...

Think our day of excitement was over? Think again! We drove to Denizli airport to catch our flight back to Istanbul. On the way there, the roads started to get icy. Not good, our guide and driver tell us, as our flight might get cancelled. We keep driving, and... it begins to snow!! We found out on arrival at the airport that our flight had indeed been cancelled due to the adverse weather, so we booked a flight back to Istanbul for the following morning, and would have to return to Atinc Hotel for the night. I wasn't too bothered. I'd seen snow before, but not seen it actually falling, and on Christmas eve, so I was in no way trying to put a lid on my excitement. :))

We begin the long, slow (due to the ice) drive back to Kusadasi, and stop for dinner: a specialty of this region is apparently the çop şiş (pronounced chop shish). Kinda like chicken şiş, but tiny tiny pieces of chicken threaded onto a flat skewer and barbequed. You have to eat about 10 15 of these to feel like you've actually eaten something, but they looked so cute (and for some reason, I don't have a photo of them, musta been too hungry - it was 10.30pm by the time we stopped for dinner!). Finally reached the hotel at about 12.30am and we'd have to be ready to go at about 7.30am the next morning. Yikes!