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 PAMUKKALE
( HIERAPOLIS)
Pamukkale
has always been a very popular settlement where
the hot springs were believed to have healing
powers, so the city became the center of a pagan
cult in antiquity and a spa resort today.
The city was on the borders of Caria, Lycia and
Phrygia and had a mixed population. Citizens
were usually involved in the wool industry and
little has changed as it is still a textile
center.
The Natural Aspect
The terraces were formed by running warm
spring water, at a temperature of 35 °C / 102
°F containing calcium bicarbonate. When the
water loses its carbon dioxide it leaves
limestone deposits. These are of different
colors and shapes in the form of terraces with
pools, overhanging surfaces and fascinating
stalactite formations. Pamukkale which means
"cotton castle" in Turkish takes its
name from
these formations. According to scientists,
if the water had always flowed at this rate, the
terraces must have begun forming 14,000 years
ago.A little further away from Pamukkale, near
Karahayit village is another thermal spring, Kirmizi
Su (the Red Water) with warmer water but
less carbon dioxide gas where the running water
creates a reddish effect different then the
white cotton terraces of Pamukkale.
History of Hierapolis
The ancient city of Hierapolis was founded
by Pergamum, probably Eumenes II, in the 2C BC.
Hierapolis is believed to derive its name from
Hiera, the wife of Telephus, both being
legendary ancestors of kings of Pergamum.
Hierapolis was also interpreted by some as the
"holy city". All the surviving ruins
of the city except the foundations of the Apollo
Temple date back to the Imperial Roman period.
In 133 BC the city was bequeathed to the Romans
along with the Kingdom of Pergamum by the will
of Attalus III. It is also thought That a large
population of Jewish people lived there who
contributed to the expansion of the Christian
belief. Hierapolis suffered from frequent large
earthquakes and was restored many times, one of
them being a complete rebuilding by Nero in the
1C AD.
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The Site;
Hierapolis is among the cities of the ancient world in which
the grid-plan was applied. The
Necropolis
is the largest ancient cemetery in Anatolia
with approximately 1,200 graves. Although in
the cemetery there are free-standing
sarcophagi and some round tumuli, the main
attraction is provided by large tomb-enclosures
housing three or more vessels and often
flanked outside by sarcophagi, presumably
placed there after the interior was full.
Hierapolis gives the impression of a
large cemetery which, although the tombs have
been visited by robbers, very large numbers of
the structures and also the vessels are still
in place; only the tomb gates (presumably of
bronze or iron) and decorations have
disappeared. Many of the tombs here were
Christian and there is at least one large
Christian basilica,
for the Apostle Philip was
martyred here in 1C AD and the faithful wished
to be buried as close as possible to the holy
dead.
The gardens of the tombs in the
necropolis were maintained by specifically
established guilds. It was these guilds’
responsibility to put wreaths at the graves on
special days.
The tomb of the Apostle Philip, the
Martyrium was built in octagonal shape
in the 5C, according to the legend on a spot
where he was stoned to death. The Roman
Bath after the necropolis was originally
built in either the 2C or 3C AD. In the early
Christian period, probably in the 5C it was
converted into a Basilica. The
Triple Arch is the northern gateway to the
city and was built in the 1C AD by the
proconsul of the Asian Province, Julius
Frontinus in honor of the Roman Emperor
Domitian. It was constructed out of the local
travertine and flanked by two round towers. It
also had an upper story which is no longer
standing. The Colonnaded Street is
1,190 m / 1,300 yards long with 6-meter-long
(20 ft) walks on either side separated from
the street by columns.
The remains of a huge 2C AD Roman
Bath serves today as a small archeological
museum with local finds.
The Sacred Pool which coincidentally
contains many ancient column pieces is located
in the Pamukkale
Motel and is not to be missed. This pool may
well easily be the remains of the original
pool of the antiquity near the Apollo Temple.
As John Freely says, "There cannot be
another hotel in the world That has a swimming
pool like this."
Somewhere under the surface of the high
plateau on which the city was built there was
a vent of poisonous gases, known to the people
of those days as the Plutonium. It was
a shrine of Pluto, the god of the dead and the
underworld. Only a closed room and a paved
courtyard survived to modern day. Geographer
Strabo describes it well: "The
Plutonium was a man-high, very deep opening
under a gently sloping hill...the vapors were
so thick That it was impossible to see the
floor...but any living creature That enters
will find death upon the instant. Bulls for
example collapse and die. We let some little
birds fly in, and they at once fell lifeless
to the ground. The eunuchs of Cybele are
resistant to the extent That they can approach
close to the opening and indeed go in without
having to hold their breath."
The Theater is a 2C AD building in
Roman style with many reliefs depicting scenes
representing the Emperor Septimus Severus and
from the life of Dionysus. In the 3C AD it was
thought to be restored during the reign of
Septimus Severus. The seating capacity was
20,000. In the 4C the theater was restored
again but this time with additional changes in
the orchestra which offered the possibility of
water displays |
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