Share on social media

The last couple of days, one to get here, one to look around the ruins.

Hotel La’bella

Didn’t think much to the hotel I stayed in on Wednesday. The place was advertised as having WiFi throughout. Turns out there was none, anywhere. This obviously causes problems. After a period of trying to sort it out in my room, then trying the public areas, I returned to reception and asked to speak to the manager.

Suddenly, and mysteriously the WiFi suddenly came on. I did the more serious stuff and went out for dinner. When I came back, it had gone off again and it stayed off until I left in the morning.

3 Mobile phone masts

When I was testing the public area’s WiFi, I went up to the rooftop terrace. There I discovered that the hotel had 3 mobile phone reception masts on the roof!

Maybe you’re aware, churches in the UK use these to make money. Operators pay a lease. If you own a tall building in somewhere they want to be, they will pay you a sum to have their service operating there. Sometimes it can be a lot.

This woman had 3!

That made me think that the place made plenty of money, without any guests. They were just creaming it off basically.

Reception weren’t at all interested in the internet not working when I left. Nothing you can do apart from leave a good honest review, so that’s what I did.

To be fair, I left a really good review for the previous hotel, so they kind of balance each other out.

Getting to Pumukkale

Travel conditions: Ideal for cycling. Overcast, cold (for Turkey), no wind, not too much sun.

Whilst cycling down there, on this side of the Pumukkale hills, I saw some of this.

There was like a local farmer parked close to the front of this one. I was going to ask him what it was all about, but after some consideration, I thought better of it and cycled on… past a number of these devices.

It was a complex spanning about 5-10km². Piping the hot water from the hills, controlling and regulating it, as steam I’d guess, then delivering it to this power station.

Very useful….

From then on, I went into some hills and I had to join the main road. Not what I wanted to do but there were are.

Here’s some photo’s from the road that day.

There’s a fair bit of wildlife which is always nice as you cycle along.

This picture was taken from a restaurant at the top of a hill. I stopped here for a chicken wrap before cycling on on the final leg toward Pumukkale.

Cyclingwise, it felt like a nice day. Strained my groin a little going up the hills, but that can’t be helped and the following day, I have off, so nothing to worry about.

Pumukkale

Is perhaps one of the most famous locations in the whole of Turkey.

The accommodation here is really cheap. Maybe €20-50 per night for something right in the centre.

This balances out with the price of food, which is double or more for some of those traditional set dishes you see all the way around. It’s more expensive than Istanbul for food!

Today, I got up had some breakfast and went to find out about buses to my next location. It is 190km, over some hills and potentially in wind and/or rain. Not what I’d call a holiday. Bus ticket came in super cheap and made the next leg potentially a much more pleasurable one!

Once I’d done that, I gave some washing to the hotel (I was a bit sweaty after yesterday’s hills), and I made it off over to explore the ruins!

Pumukkale and Hierapolis

Cost €30 to get in consisting of entry to the rock formations and the ancient city. Unlike the last UNESCO site, this one felt more justified. If you haven’t been there the pictures speak for themselves.

So here we are:

Once you’d ascended the travertines, you can explore the, (ancient), holy city of Hierapolis!

This has an audio guide you can access using a QR code on your entry ticket. This will talk you around the ruins, and in addition to the provided signs, listening into other guided tours and the backdrop of the hills and natural rock formations, it was a fairly enlightening experience.

This, I guess, has transitioned through the ages.

Here’s some pictures from the ancient city.

At the sources of the waters, they used to do weird necrotic rituals due to the escape of toxic gas along with the water, which had the side effect of killing pretty much anything that went near it, (apart from the priests).

Nothing like a bit of necrotic symbolism to spice up your holy city’s kudos!

Today, I’m pretty much finished. I’m going to post my blog, have my dinner, maybe see what’s happening on a Friday night in Pumukkale, (not a lot probably) and move onto the next city tomorrow. I’ll let that be a surprise.

Until next time!