From the small town of Pamukkale, you get a glimpse of the hillside covered in white, all a result of hardened calcium deposits flowing over the huge hill.
One of the most popular images on Turkish tourism brochures, the travertine pools of Pamukkale are truly unique and beautiful
And if the amazing white pools weren't enough, there's another set of ancient Roman ruins, Hierapolis, sitting on top of the hill overlooking the area
As usual, the theater was the most impressive piece of the ruins, showing how massive these cities must have been. It was also getting pretty hot, but unfortunately these theaters weren't air conditioned. They really weren't all that advanced after all
The water flowing over the hillside eventually formed these calcium carbonate pools, filling with the beautiful water before overflowing and continuing on its way down the hill below
Staying until later in the afternoon, the tour groups began to disperse, and the whistle-toting security guards were less active, allowing me to soak in the amazing sights...though I couldn't actually soak in the pools, as that's not allowed anymore, partially for keeping the pools pristine and probably moreso for preventing idiots from falling over the side and to a painful death rolling down the rocky hill below
These pools are each about the size of a regular, residential swimming pool, though I really don't know how deep
The sun began setting, and a few people were hoping to catch a shot of the sun setting over the pools, but with the direction of the sun, that was not even close to being possible, so I think it was the wrong season for that. Here you can also see a bit of the cascade coming over the hill and feeding the pools
Along the outside edges of the pools, stalactites hang down like icicles, connecting to the pools and hillside below
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