A Bath at Pamukkale

Every now and then....I get opportunities to get to know other countries and places. Invitations in my business are common. All the world wants a published travel writer to do an article about what they see. Personally I like to do the trips on my own as somehow when the government of a country invites you to write a story.....the view of the local world they present to the writer is somewhat slanted. I personally end up comparing them to South America as that is my favorite place in the world.

I had always thought that Peru topped the list of places with historic ruins around every corner....but in the case of Turkey...where I was on an invited trip....the ruins are at every step of the way. You can't go 3 feet without stepping on some kind of pot shard from ancient history. They are so plentiful that the locals don't even bother to pick them up. But don't try and do this yourself as customs officials will put you in a lovely Turkish jail in case you get any similar ideas.

Proliferation of ruins in Turkey is common as is the proliferation of tourism in this country. Masses of Japanese, Russian, German and French are a common site all year long. Cruise ships with thousands of passengers dock in Istanbul every day.
Big white buses can be seen even on the smallest roads and Turkey has yet to work out a way to see all its historic sites without having a big white bus in the picture. Hotels and restaurants are always prepared with the typical menu of bus tour fare and are ready with "get them in, get them out" service.

The Turkish have yet to figure a way to get these masses of people moving around without the feeling that one is just a part of the mass. Ruins are over run with Japanese....as usual....with cameras clicking and all of them talking at an excited pitch and at the same time.

Pamukkale...a wonderful area of hot springs dating from Roman times, was no exception. Here there are public bathing pools and salt flats to wade in which are overrun with all kinds of people...all snapping away taking pictures of friends standing on the white stone.

Turkey and Pamukkale are very beautiful places to visit....but crowds are everywhere and the mentality of tourism is on the busloads of cruise ship visitors and tourists from the world over. Although from December through March it is cold.....tourism comes to a standstill. I wonder if this is perhaps a more beautiful and austere time to see this amazing country?