May 17, 2022

May 17, 2022

Before leaving Pamukkale we make a stop below the Travertine formation to take a photo. Humorously one guy in our group whistles and all of a sudden a line of geese swim towards us. That must be their feeding call.

We drive down the Meander River Valley seeing several geothermal plants utilizing the hot spring water to produce power. They may also be contributors to the water diversion of Pamukkale.

After ninety minutes we reach the ancient city of Aphrodisias. This Greek city dedicated to the Goddess of Love and Beauty is a joy to tour. It is small with some intact ruins that is off the beaten tourist track. We have this World Heritage site mostly to ourselves.

We enter the city via the reconstructed monumental gateway called a Tetrapylon, because of its four columned piers. 

Our next stop is the Stadium, probably the main draw of Aphrodisias. This chariot race track is longer than two football fields and had a capacity of 25,000 spectators. It is the best preserved of the Western World.

We next pass the Temple of Aphrodite. Little of it remains standing as much of the city was destroyed by the same earthquake that hit Hierapolis in the 7th century.

Around the corner is the Bouleuterion. This is a small theater that housed the city council chamber. Here would be debated municipal matters. Our Congress could take a few pointers.

The city had a public bath with tiled floor and heated water. It also had a large public theater for the performance of dramas. And every town had to have an Agora or marketplace. The lengthy oval market here had a decorative pond in the middle.

Finished with the ruins, we made a brief visit to the onsite Museum. Aphrodisias had a large School of Sculpture, so the museum has lots of marble statues and sarcophagi. In particular it has lots of sculpted heads.

We had lunch at a nearby restaurant. The dessert was unusual this time (not the normal Baklava or Rice Pudding). It was called Halva and is a sugary confection of Tahini and Sesame oil.

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving west to Kusadasi on the Aegean coast. It is a beautiful seaside resort town. We have a beer on the hotel’s rooftop Pool Bar. Dinner is down the street at a harbor-side restaurant. We split a Sea Bass entree.