{"id":9204,"date":"2021-12-02T08:26:13","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T15:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=9204"},"modified":"2022-05-04T06:54:40","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T13:54:40","slug":"ancient-greek-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2021\/12\/02\/ancient-greek-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancient Greek Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position: 36\u00b049’11″N 28\u00b018’25″E<\/a><\/h6>\n

Given all their history, it\u2019s easy to forget that Greece and Turkey are a mere discus throw apart. Zooming in on our chart plotter, the red line separating the two countries comes with a note: \u201cThis boundary is derived from chart GR45_2007 published by Greece HO\u201d. Navionics, diplomatically, declines to comment further. Crossing that thin red line meant we\u2019d finally arrived on our third continent.<\/p>\n

Within two weeks of entering Turkey, it has become clear that its (western) history is so inextricably entangled with the Greeks and Romans that any question of this country being Asian is moot. For most Americans, the notion that any object or building being more than 400 years old is something rare and marvellous. Around here if it\u2019s not 2,000 years old it\u2019s not worthy of a road sign. Our first foray into the countryside brought us to three of the most remarkable historical sites we\u2019ve seen to date.<\/p>\n

PAMUKKALE<\/a><\/h6>\n

Pamuk = Cotton, Kale = Castle, viz. Cotton Castle. <\/strong>(Not to be confused with <\/em>White Castle<\/a><\/em>! \u2013 ed.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Pamukkale<\/a> is home one of the oddest natural landmarks in the world. Anyone who remembers Dr. Zhivago will instantly think they landed on its fully winterised set in mid-July. For everyone else, it looks like Space Mountain in Disneyland. Suspended calcium carbonate flows out with the hot springs and over the bluff where it crystalizes, cladding a mile-wide swathe of cliffside in brilliant white, flowing icicles. As the minerals deposit, the remaining water seeps over a series of plateaus into cerulean blue ponds called travertines. The air is faintly sulphurous and while the ground beneath your bare feet looks slippery, it grips dermabrasively well. The sick and tired have been coming to these healing waters for thousands of years. Cleopatra was a fan. The Romans, who never passed up the opportunity for a soak, took one look and moved in.<\/p>\n

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