| Pamukkale has always been a very
popular settlement where the hot springs were
believed to have healing powers, so the city
became the center of a pagan cult in antiquity
and a spa resort today. The city was on the borders of
Caria, Lycia and Phrygia and had a mixed
population. Citizens were usually involved in the
wool industry and little has changed as it is
still a textile center.
The Natural
Aspect
The terraces were
formed by running warm spring water, at a
temperature of 35 °C / 102 °F
containing calcium bicarbonate. When the water
loses its carbon dioxide it leaves limestone
deposits. These are of different colors and
shapes in the form of terraces with pools,
overhanging surfaces and fascinating stalactite
formations. Pamukkale which means "cotton
castle" in Turkish takes its name from these
formations. According to scientists, if the water
had always flowed at this rate, the terraces must
have begun forming 14,000 years ago.
A little further
away from Pamukkale, near Karahayit village is
another thermal spring, Kirmizi Su (the
Red Water) with warmer water but less carbon
dioxide gas where the running water creates a
reddish effect different than the white cotton
terraces of Pamukkale.
History of Hierapolis
The ancient city
of Hierapolis was founded by Pergamum, probably
Eumenes II, in the 2C BC. Hierapolis is
believed to derive its name from Hiera, the wife
of Telephus, both being legendary ancestors of
kings of Pergamum. Hierapolis was also
interpreted by some as the "holy city".
All the surviving ruins of the city except the
foundations of the Apollo Temple date back to the
Imperial Roman period.
In 133 BC the
city was bequeathed to the Romans along with the
Kingdom of Pergamum by the will of
Attalus III. It is also thought that a large
population of Jewish people lived there who
contributed to the expansion of the Christian
belief. Hierapolis suffered from frequent large
earthquakes and was restored many times, one of
them being a complete rebuilding by Nero in the
1C AD.
The Site
Hierapolis is
among the cities of the ancient world in which
the grid-plan was applied. The Necropolis
is the largest ancient cemetery in Anatolia with
approximately 1,200 graves. Although in the
cemetery there are free-standing sarcophagi and
some round tumuli, the main attraction is
provided by large tomb-enclosures housing three
or more vessels and often flanked outside by
sarcophagi, presumably placed there after the
interior was full.
Hierapolis gives
the impression of a large cemetery which,
although the tombs have been visited by robbers,
very large numbers of the structures and also the
vessels are still in place; only the tomb gates
(presumably of bronze or iron) and decorations
have disappeared. Many of the tombs here were
Christian and there is at least one large
Christian basilica, for the Apostle Philip was
martyred here in 1C AD and the faithful
wished to be buried as close as possible to the
holy dead. The gardens of the tombs in the
necropolis were maintained by specifically
established guilds. It was these guilds’
responsibility to put wreaths at the graves on
special days.
The tomb of the
Apostle Philip, the Martyrium was
built in octagonal shape in the 5C, according to
the legend on a spot where he was stoned to
death. The Roman Bath after the necropolis
was originally built in either the 2C or
3C AD. In the early Christian period,
probably in the 5C it was converted into a Basilica.
The Triple Arch is the northern gateway to
the city and was built in the 1C AD by the
proconsul of the Asian Province, Julius Frontinus
in honor of the Roman Emperor Domitian. It was
constructed out of the local travertine and
flanked by two round towers. It also had an upper
story which is no longer standing. The
Colonnaded Street is 1,190 m / 1,300
yards long with 6-meter-long (20 ft) walks
on either side separated from the street by
columns.
The remains of a
huge 2C AD Roman Bath serves today as
a small archeological museum with local
finds.
The Sacred Pool
which coincidentally contains many ancient column
pieces is located in the Pamukkale Motel and is
not to be missed. This pool may well easily be
the remains of the original pool of the antiquity
near the Apollo Temple. As John Freely says,
"There cannot be another hotel in the world
that has a swimming pool like this."
Somewhere under
the surface of the high plateau on which the city
was built there was a vent of poisonous gases,
known to the people of those days as the Plutonium.
It was a shrine of Pluto, the god of the dead and
the underworld. Only a closed room and a paved
courtyard survived to modern day. Geographer
Strabo describes it well: "The Plutonium
was a man-high, very deep opening under a gently
sloping hill...the vapors were so thick that it
was impossible to see the floor...but any living
creature that enters will find death upon the
instant. Bulls for example collapse and die. We
let some little birds fly in, and they at once
fell lifeless to the ground. The eunuchs of
Cybele are resistant to the extent that they can
approach close to the opening and indeed go in
without having to hold their breath."
The Theater
is a 2C AD building in Roman style with many
reliefs depicting scenes representing the Emperor
Septimus Severus and from the life of Dionysus.
In the 3C AD it was thought to be restored
during the reign of Septimus Severus. The seating
capacity was 20,000. In the 4C the theater was
restored again but this time with additional
changes in the orchestra which offered the
possibility of water displays.
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