WRITING PROMPT RESPONSE
Natural Turkish Delights
Three natural wonders that changed the way I travel
My passion for travel didn’t happen overnight. It was a gradual process, building up slowly from a young age. However, the transition from a mere tourist blindly following a tour guide to someone resembling a traveler was rather swift. One and a half trips swift — to be precise. This last half was imperative in defining my future travels, love for natural wonders, and a slight obsession with geological sites all over the world. In essence, I caught my travel bug in Turkey ten years ago.
Rocky wonderland
At the time, I was still a student so the price for every trip was the determining factor. The cheapest option was a package holiday to Antalya, Turkey. Flights, transfers, accommodation, and even breakfast included — perfect for two students.
We spent the first day sticking to the best practices of every seaside resort-goer which include laying on the beach and eating as much as you can. Except, we were far from the best resorts, in a shabby hotel with cracked, light-blue floor tiles and a very loud air conditioner. But the beach was within a walking distance, and due to the heat of July, we couldn’t stomach anything more substantial than watermelon and peaches anyway. All in all, we were satisfied.
On the second day, we started to get restless. This resort kind of thing wasn’t for us, and we ventured outside the city in an attempt to conquer the nearby Mount Tahtalı. By conquering I mean catching the correct minibus on a busy street, getting out at the right middle-of-nowhere spot, waiting for an hour for a designated car that can drive us higher up since a man at the entry point didn’t allow us to catch the ride with locals, and taking a cable car to the summit.
The views were worth the effort, and our success made us bold enough to buy the overnight bus tickets to Göreme in the historical region of Cappadocia. If we could manage a 50-kilometer trip (31 miles) in a foreign country using local transport, a 550-kilometer trip (341 miles) one way shouldn’t be much more different, simply longer.
We are pleasantly surprised by a big, new, and air-conditioned bus that effortlessly glides through the pitch-dark night. At first, our front seat pockets full of sick bags make us feel equally amused and impressed. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one on a plane, let alone a bus. But as we soon find ourselves meandering across a mountain range and sounds of retching echo across the bus regularly, we can’t stop appreciate the company’s effort. Moreover, as soon as the first note of someone vomiting reaches the driver, the air-conditioning system fills the bus with a flowery scent, erasing most of the unpleasantness.
After a short ride in a cramped minibus, we finally reach Göreme early in the morning. Since we’ve arrived totally unprepared, a smart thing to do would be to look for accommodation, but the unique setting of the town immediately pulls us in and practicalities are quickly forgotten. It’s like nothing I have seen before.
The otherwise simple Turkish town is punctuated by massive stone formations resembling gigantic spears. In the distance, more boulders rise out of the earth like enormous mushrooms, and some of the hillsides look more like covered with stiff peaks of whipped cream, not carved in the rock.
A few million years ago, the region of Cappadocia was blanketed with a thick layer of ash erupting from surrounding volcanoes. Over time, the ash hardened, forming a soft rock known as tuff, and was later covered by solidified lava, creating a tough layer of basalt at the top. The unstoppable forces of wind and water have eroded the softer material, leaving behind a fairy tale landscape.
People have used this natural phenomenon since the Bronze Age, carving out the tuff rock and making simple cave dwellings. Over the centuries, the excavation works have only intensified. Amid residential cave houses, stables, churches, and monasteries, there are extensive tunnel complexes, some even ten stories deep, forming hidden underground towns.
Some of the rock-carved houses are still in use and quite a few have been turned into hotels. We find one for our stay as we walk across Göreme, marveling at the natural rock pillars. The cave room is pleasantly cool in the summer heat, and we feel like highly advanced cavemen.
Equipped with a primitive map from the hotel, we explore the surrounding area of Göreme National Park. At first on foot, but the burning sun forces us to rent a car for the second day. We had only recently gotten our driving licenses, and testing our skills in a mountainous region of a foreign country wasn’t on our itinerary. Luckily, there isn’t much driving involved since it’s impossible to drive more than a few kilometers without stopping for yet another marvelous view.
Rock cones of various sizes arise all around reminiscent of gnome hats with small basalt pom-poms at the top. Hillsides of white rock pop up from time to time like soft peaks of vanilla ice cream.
Pinnacles, mushrooms, and chimneys of tuff tower as high as 40 meters (130 feet), and the Red and Rose valleys in the distance add a brilliant splash of color.
Zelve Open-Air Museum, with its large cave village, is another natural delight. It’s less popular than Göreme Open-Air Museum, meaning more opportunities to explore the enormous labyrinth of caves in solitude. People resided here until the 1950s when falling rocks and crumpling cave dwellings became too dangerous for living due to never-ceasing erosion. It’s literally an anthill with countless rock-carved chambers connected by tunnels. It may be a little bit too claustrophobic for my liking, but I’m in awe of the people who have found their home here for centuries.
Exploring Cappadocia is like entering a rocky wonderland. Every step of the way, the geological evolution of this unusual region unfolds right before your eyes, and it’s futile to resist its pull. I’m sure I left a small part of myself in one of the magical tuff valleys because how else could I explain the insatiable desire to chase similar marvels of geology wherever I have traveled since. I’m looking for my missing piece.
Cotton Castle
After returning to Antalya, we didn’t want to challenge our individual travel success and organize another long-distance trip ourselves, so we chose to be typical tourists for another day and booked a day-tour to Turkey’s ‘Cotton Castle’ — Pamukkale.
After an unexpected detour to a huge Turkish towel store, which gives our guide some extra income from the store owner, and mediocre lunch at the roadside establishment, we reach the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hierapolis-Pamukkale.
Pamukkale is famous for its strikingly blue pools nested in snow-white travertine terraces made of calcium carbonate deposits. More than 15 hot springs emerge from the ground in this area. As the mineral-rich waters reach the surface, calcium carbonate precipitates and creates this wondrous milky landscape among rocky mountains, dry fields, and green forests.
At the top of Pamukkale’s terraces sits Hierapolis, which has been a thermal spa center since the 2nd century BC. People have always flocked to these natural thermal springs to treat various illnesses and rejuvenate, making Hierapolis one of the most notable cities in the Roman Empire. Historical ruins of temples, buildings, gates, streets, and shrines as well as an amphitheater and a necropolis can still be seen at the site.
Although it’s a very hot day, we can’t skip the opportunity to soak in Cleopatra’s pool where the water temperature is around 37°C (98°F). In contrast to white terraces, the water here is clear, and the pool is haphazardly filled with fragments of ancient columns and other Roman artifacts. Once, there stood a Roman temple to Apollo, which was destroyed by an earthquake and fell into the pool. Now, it’s still impressive, surrounded by blooming oleander shrubs, but I’m struggling to channel my inner Cleopatra while wading through the slightly radioactive water, clambering over Doric columns, and flushing from the heated water and air.
When we finally reach the travertine terraces, I’m lost for words. It’s like something that shouldn’t be possible. Like a snowy hillside under the blazing summer sun — extraordinary would be an understatement.
Shoes are not allowed, so we meander around and through the milky pools barefoot, soaking up the rejuvenating goodness. Some people have covered themselves in chalky deposits and are drying in the sun like ghostly clay figurines before sliding back into the pools.
Similar to Cappadocia, this place is alive. Not with visiting tourists but with the natural forces that drive their existence. Rivulets of thermal springs spill over the white walls as they have tirelessly done for millennia, depositing new layers of calcium carbonate and slowly changing the landscape. I could easily spend an entire day in Pamukkale, but that’s the biggest problem with the tours — you have to follow someone’s schedule, which usually doesn’t coincide with your preferences.
Flaming stones
Back in Antalya, we cannot sit idle, not anymore. When you get itchy feet, there is no way back. The next day, we pack our small backpacks again, and within an hour, we are on the main street, trying to catch another minibus that will hopefully get us closer to the next destination — Olympos. It takes longer than expected, involves the change of buses and a long wait, but we finally reach the Turkish backpacker paradise.
It’s a fun, laid-back, hippie-like small village with a gorgeous mountain backdrop and quirky tree houses and wooden shacks hidden among trees. We get one for the night and apply for a night tour to the nearby natural wonder — flaming stones or Yanartaş in Turkish.
When the darkness sets in, we are transported to the base of a mountain, given torches, and reminded to be back in time. The ascent takes around 30 minutes, but in combination with the warmth of the night, it feels much longer.
As we near the magical mountainside, we are greeted with music and laughter and can’t stop smiling despite the streams of sweat running down our faces. Only one look at the eternal flames shooting out of the bare rock, and our smiles turn into astonished expressions and jaws drop significantly. Dozens of small campfires dot the area, flames playfully dancing between the rocks, and none of them are man-made.
They have been burning here for more than a couple of millennia non-stop and are fueled by the methane gas hidden deep within the earth’s surface and seeping through the vents in the rocks. When we visited Yanartaş a decade ago, their existence was still a mystery since the underground temperature at the site wasn’t high enough to facilitate the formation of methane. A few years later, scientists discovered that rare metal, ruthenium, found in the underlying rocks, acts as a catalyst, supporting methane formation at lower temperatures.
The flaming hillside turns into an impromptu camping party with people playing guitars, singing, roasting marshmallows and sausages over the burning stones, and having fun. It seems that none of them is concerned with an occasional scorpion hurriedly disappearing in crevices. They probably haven’t noticed the nasty critters yet, but I refuse to sit down anymore and hope to not stumble upon one on my way downhill.
In the morning, we explore the ancient city of Olympos, whose remains are hidden in the surrounding forest next to the beach. It was probably founded in the 4th century BC and was once an important maritime trading city. Now, it’s possible to lay on the Olympos beach and gaze at the nearby age-old ruins. The smell of the sea mixed with the aromatic bay leaves, covering the ground under the neighboring bay laurels, is the epitome of our Olympos experience.
We are back in our hotel right for the dinner. As I enjoy the perfectly cooked eggplants, I know my travels have reached a turning point. The impressive wonders of Turkey have ignited my wanderlust like nothing before, and it burns ever since like the eternal flames of Yanartaş.
#naturalwonders
Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed with up-to-date curations from our editors.
We now offer exclusive writing services for our members. Discover how you can take advantage of our editing services and more.
