Cotton Castle| I saw Azamat Bagatov- Borat assistant

After having Turkish Menemel breakfast I left the hostel for Pamukkale. This Atilla Hostel located 5 km outside Selcuk and on the main road to Denizli ( Pamukkale’s next main town). The Dolmus brought small amount of travellers daytripping to Pamukkale from Selcuk and took about 3 hours journey. The journey was better than the night before. Along the road there were silver dome mosques in every small village next to main road.

Pamukkale ( or cotton castle) is renowned for gleaming white ledges(travertines) with pools that flow down under the plateu edge. For 20 Lira I paid to get in and climbed the hill above Pamukkale village. It was spectacular seeing clear water cascading over white limestones terraces. And the view from the top plateu was beautiful. However the white pools were also an assault for my eyes. I never thought that people go there to bath and swim at the pool other than appreciating the natural wonders. That’s why I was seeing a lot of women and men with bathing suit from the entrance climbing up. It’s definitely not an eye pleaser seeing half naked fat old men and women bathing.

I saw Azamat Bagatov- Borat assistant in Borat indulging the white pool water terrace bathing….NOT. No it’s just my imagination to describe what I was seeing.

Behind this fragile natural wonder lie the magnificent ruins of the Roman city Hieropolis, an ancient spa resort. Ruins, ruins, ruins. I nearly bored with ruins but 20 Lira was a lot so I went into the the site anyway. The ruins of Hieropolis is including a huge theatre, a colonnade street, a latrine building and a vast necropolis. Between Hieropolis and travertine was the spa resort, the popular bathing pool littered with fragment of marble column. Another assault for my eyes!

After 3 hours on top of plateau I went down to the busstop office where the driver dropped me. I paid the ticket 35 Lira earlier from the busstop office to Konya. The bus operator explained that I had to be there an hour before the departure at 7.30 pm because they were going to transfer me to the coach at Denizli Otogar. That’s what I understood.

At 6.30 I asked the operator where’s the bus? He unashamedly gave me 2 Lira and demanded me to walk down 100 meters and wait for the town bus that heading to Denizli Otogar (main bustop). I said what? That’s not what were you saying before.

I understood the dolmus supposed to pick me up to Denizli. I confronted them but it’s hopeless. This kind thing really bothers me in Turkey. What were said before transactions turn a different thing after.

For 35 Lira, 10 Lira went to their pocket. BASTARD !

Time to depart to Konya was approaching and it’s hopeless arguing with this cheecky Turkish, and to skip the drama I walked down and wait for the bus. I could have just go and avoid the confrontation but realizing that I would have ended up walking elsewhere than the busstop (how would I know)and possibly miss the bus, I argued with them.

Luckily they were other passengers waiting and small chat with them, they said it took 25 minutes to the main busstop and it was 6.55pm already! The town dolmus(mini bus) arrived later and picked and dropped passengers on the way. Finally arrived at 7.25pm and nearly missed the bus to Konya.




-travbuddy.com-