One of the highlights of our Chan Brothers Turkey Trip came on the 4th day where we visited the Cotton Castle – Pamukkale! It was also the day where we covered the longest distance of the entire trip where we journeyed 650km to Cappadocia – home of the monoliths and hot air balloons!
Turkey Travel to Pamukkale Cotton Castle and Cappadocia
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Pamukkale literally translates to Cotton and Castle. The term Cotton Castle (or Pamukkale) was not derived from any legend or story. Simply, if you take a look at the picture below, it looks like a white and fluffy cotton castle from afar. Hence, the name.
The Cotton Castle of Pamukkale is famous for its travertines. As the hot spring flows over the sides of the hills, calcium carbonate are deposited overtime and they form these amazing structures that we see today. Due to conservation efforts, only a section of the Cotton Castle is open to the public. During summer, the travertine pools are filled up and travellers can soak themselves and enjoy the summer sun. However, during winter (the time that we visited Pamukkale), only the main channel has hot spring water flowing through it. Therefore, you can see many travellers sitting by the sides and enjoying themselves while soaking their feet.
Tip : If you intend to soak your feet during the winter season, remember that the main channel IS REALLY SLIPPERY! This is due to algae formation as the hot spring water flows through the channel. Kate also had a slip which resulted in wet pants! Also, if you intend to sit down and soak, do note that water does flow along intermittently. Meaning, even though it may seem that its dry, when you sit down, it WILL DEFINITELY be wet. So bring along a plastic bag to sit on. Lastly, bring a towel or some tissue to dry your feet when you return!
Again, as recommended by our guide, Enis, the best views of Pamukkale can be taken from the garden side of cotton castle. At the travertines itself, views over the city of Pamukkale is also amazing, as shown by Kate below 🙂
Enjoy the views of the travertines of Cotton Castle Turkey (Pamukkale)
Journey to Cappadocia and rest at Dinler Hotel Nevsehir
After our visit to Pamukkale, we embarked on our 10 hour long arduous journey from Pamukkale to Cappadocia (approximately 650km). Along the way, we had rest stops and lunch and of course, many stories from Enis, which we will share with you below…
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1. Visiting the doctor in the olden days. In the olden days, if you had a problem with your finger, you would first go and buy a bronze finger from the blacksmith and bring it to the priest of the “clinic”. Leg problem, bronze leg. In those days, the priest was the doctor and he would take the bronze finger, melt it and treat it as a form of payment. He would then give the patient a drug to cause hallucination. Based on what the patient says, the priest would then prescribe medicine for the illness because in those days, it was believed that the gods were speaking to the patients through the drug. Wonder how many people actually got cured (or killed) in this way. Scary…
2. About poppy production. During our rest stop, we were able to taste this dish of yoghurt mixed with honey, topped with poppy seeds! Don’t worry, these seeds won’t cause any form of hallucination and it tastes somewhat like the sesame seed. Legally (the key word here), Turkey is the 3rd largest in the world for opium poppy production. Dinar is the place where we stopped to taste this yummy (and healthy) dish.
3. “Make it Zero” and Week of Thieves. Enis shared that one of the government officals and his son were caught in a tele-conversation whereby the dad was asking where the son hid the cash. The son replied that he stashed it at their usual place. So the dad wanted the money to be transferred and the son asked whether to transfer all of it. The dad replied “make it zero”. Since then, the phrase has become a joke among the locals, even sparking the “Thieves Week” from 17-25 December each year. People would wear black bandit masks during this period, which can be quite hilarious according to Enis.
4. Sultan Nasreddin Hodja. There’s this famous character called Sultan Nasreddin Hodja and he’s usually depicted riding a donkey backwards. So the story goes that he always rides a donkey and waves to everyone he sees when he goes through the city. However, one day, one person complained that he did not acknowledge him. Of course, to Nasreddin Hodja, this was obviously not true as he always greets everyone. So to counter this, he rode the donkey backwards. He explained that he rode the donkey backwards because he would greet those he sees and the donkey greets those that he doesn’t see! What a humorous figure!
5. About good cherry harvests. Did you know that a long hard snowy winter equates to late cherry blossoms which means a good cherry harvest? Conversely, a “mild” winter equates to a bad harvest of tiny cherries.
Before arriving at Dinler Hotel Nevsehir, we visited the Sultanhani Caravanserai. It was built in the 13th century and served merchants plying the silk road. Along the silk road, travellers would build “motels” like the Sultanhani Caravanserai. These caravanserais would be a shelter for the travellers and they can only be put up for 3 days. Shelters like these are free to use and people would find rest for themselves and their animals before embarking on their next phase of travel. However, unlike hotels, no food was provided and you have to cook your own food and tend to your own stuff. Most importantly, leave on time!
Itinerary of Turkey Travel Day 4: Cotton Castle of Pamukkale and Journey to Cappadocia
0715 : Depart from Lycus River Hotel to Cotton Castle Pamukkale
0730 : Arrival at Pamukkale Cotton Castle
0900 : Departure from Cotton Castle to Cappadocia
1100 : Stopover for yoghurt with honey and poppy seeds
1300 : Lunch
1730 : Arrival at Sultanhani Caravanserai
1900 : Arrival at Dinler Hotel Nevsehir
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Related posts
This post is part of our 10 Days 7 Nights Turkey travel with Chan Brothers. Below, you can find other relevant posts covered during this trip.
Turkey Trip Day 1 : Singapore to Istanbul and Ferry to Canakkale
Turkey Travel Day 2 : Visiting the Trojan Horse of Troy and Ancient City of Pergamon
Turkey Travel Day 3 : Visit to Ephesus / Turkish Bath and Hot Springs of Lycus River Hotel Pamukkale
Turkey Trip Day 4 : Pamukkale Cotton Castle and Journey to Cappadocia!
Hot Air Balloon Flight in Cappadocia with Royal Balloon : Turkey Travel Day 6!
Mall of Istanbul (MOI) : Shopping Eating and Relaxing on Day 8 of Turkey Trip!
Find out more about day 5 of our Chan Brother’s Turkey travel where we’ll visit the famous Cappadocia region of Turkey!