Travertine, euro-pose, and a lost kindle

So after Istanbul, which was incredible, we set out for Pamukkale. Pamukkale is a town in the middle of Turkey that was used as a Roman Bath resort a LOOOOONG time ago. It was an hour flight and then an hour bus ride from the airport. As we were getting on the bus, Kelsey and i realized we left our kindle on the plane. GOD DAMNIT!!! We were already out of the terminal, way past security, there was no way we're going to get back in there. Not a good start to Pamukkale. We just got on the bus and tried to enjoy the rest of the trip. We were told it was about $10/person to get us all the way to Pamukkale , then halfway through they pulled over and put us on a smaller bus... then said $10 more/person. That was STRIKE 2 Pamukkale! We eventually arrive in Pamukkale, which is a town that can't even be 4 square blocks, and decide to drop our stuff off at our hotel. We walk into our room, and there are 4 single beds placed at different parts of the TINY room. At that point we realized why the room was so cheap, it was basically like going to a summer camp for 30 year olds. The guys at the hotel were extremely nice though and they offered to help us try to get our kindle back from the airline.

The main attraction in Pamukkale is the national park which has the travertine baths. Essentially this is a huge deposit of travertine ("the rock") that is met by an underground river. From a distance "the rock" looks like a snow covered hill surrounded on all sides by a bunch of dry brush, with a long sloped path to the top (it looks like someone carved a long driveway out of the rock). When you get closer though you realize that the river, which is still running down to the foot of the path, actually carved the walkway up. All along the path to the top there are random pools that people can sit and cool off in (Turkey is HOT).  Like I said earlier, the grounds are actually in a national park and they won't let anyone wear their shoes on the travertine, so you see hundreds of people walking around barefoot in the water.

Now, from what we have observed, taking your shoes off and walking in water is the first step to losing most of your inhibitions to Europeans. After just entering the park, you see grown men and women having fun; splashing one another, laughing, etc. About a quarter of the way up, people start taking off their shirts and enjoying the sun (EVEN I DID IT). Half way up, speedos and bikinis (none of which should be on ANY of these people) are everywhere. At three quarters climb, we were literally stopped in our tracks by a group of 3 who were taking pictures of themselves. This quickly turned into a full blown photoshoot, each person taking, no joke, at least 100 photos of the other while the third person held up traffic. When we were forced to stop, we noticed that these 3 were not the only ones trying to update their portfolios. In fact, the 4 of us were in the minority of people not posing for the camera. Posing is not the right word, these people (not just girls) were WORKING IT; on hands and knees, doing the tiger claw, flexing, leg up against the wall of the mountain, the look over the shoulder, etc. etc. etc. In that moment, everyone was sexy in their minds; Grandmas, Grandpas, 20 Year old girls/guys, the fat guy in the speedo (who was encouraging his 2 sons and daughter to work it too). This small detail of Pamukkale was not in our tour books.

After that spectacle, we made it to the top. Here you overlook the entire valley, which is actually very beautiful. We hung out in some of the Roman pools, drank a few beers, then read the sign advertising for... the water park. Yep, they put a water park at the top of the 3000 year old historical landmark. Yep, both tasteless and genius at the same time. So, of course we went. "Water park" was a bit of an exaggeration. They had about 5 pools and 2 mini slides for kids. We didn't realize that we walked in without paying admission, but after getting a look at the facilities and the price, we bailed and went back to the travertine pools.

So after the pools we walked back to the hotel. Remember how I said the guys at the hotel were extremely nice? They had been working with Turkish Air to get us our kindle back all morning. Turkish Air had flown it back into Pamukkale, and these guys (who run a hotel for like $50/night for a room) paid a driver to drive an hour each way to the airport to pick it up. They told us to go get some dinner and they'd have it when we got back. Sure enough we went and got some dinner and birthday drinks for Melissa (happy bday again Mel!). When we finally returned to the hotel that night, they had our kindle and some birthday presents (postcards, tea, and a magnet) waiting for us. I tried to pay them for their troubles, at the very least for the cost of sending a driver, but they wouldn't accept any of it. They told us we were their guests and that is their duty. Such nice people. The next morning we woke up, kindle in hand, and took off for the Antalya on the Turkish Riviera. Nothing like a 3 hour bus ride to get you ready for the beach!