Aqua, Hierapolis, tiles and Sufism

We set off early today and spent the morning exploring the huge ancient city of hierapolis and seeing the beautiful mineral rich aqua waters which are in the snow white travatines and overlook a patchwork of green land with terracotta roofed houses in the pamukkale region far below. it is breathtakingly beautiful. we then swam in cleopatras thermal bath which was about 38 degrees celsius and rich in minerals and sulphur. it was beautiful and our skin was very soft afterwards, apparently the healing properties are great. sitting in an ancient city and imagining life before is incredible. we felt refreshed enough to walk up a huge mountain afterwards, with frequent stops to catch our breath, and view the most incredible amphitheatre of the city which could sit 15,000 roman’s in its day. it was awesome!
We drove through so many villages, further east, more traditional people from agricultural backgrounds and strict muslim culture. we stopped and ate local delicacies such as yoghurt/honey/ground poppy seeds (opium) and it was so delicious. We are heading towards Konya, home of the famous whirling dervishes - members of the Sufism order. It was particularly special and AMAZINGLY Beautiful to visit two special places. 1)center of education and architectural beauty, Karatay Madrasa and 2) Museum and Mausoleum of Mevlana. Here we paid our respects to Rumi - scholar, poet and theologist of the 13th century, and the teachings of sufism. The feeling, rooms, exhibitions, TILES and stories were beautiful. We ended our night late at a turkish restaurant in the village of Konya - soup was yoghurt with mint!Read more