Erzene

Once I dropped my bicycle and my stuff at David's place again, I went off to catch a minimus to Denizli. I didn't check the exact departure times but they told me busses leave hourly and according to the friendly service person, it "only takes 2.5h to get there". Unfortunately, when I arrived at the bus stop, I just missed one by minutes, so I had to wait 40min for the next bus. I got myself some breakfast and snacks from the little shops around, which was actually life-saving because the trip took much (!) longer than they said! :D Retrospectively, I'm not surprised about that actually. The first minibus was a shuttle bus to the main bus station outside Izmir, where we then hopped on a regular sized and pretty modern bus. All tickets had a seat number, but half the people on the bus didn't really care about it, which caused some discussions for those who insisted on their reserved seats so that they can sit together. Another pretty Turkish thing is, to serve çay (black tea) on the bus multiple times, they were also going around with a Turkish lemon water for hand refreshment that smells really good. The service on the bus was really nice, but of cause it didn't just take 2.5h to get to Denizli, but around 4h. It was already 4:00pm when I arrived in Denizli. Planning to head back to Izmir the next day, I really wanted to get to Pamukkale the same day, again via minibus from Denizli bus station. I couldn't find the minibuses at first and asked around, until a helpful guy told me the minibus departs from the underground platform nr. 75 - turned out there are really this many platforms! :D The minibus left almost immediatey and just 20min later, driving through cute little villages, I arrived in Pamukkale.

To walk on this amazing white limestone structure, you have to take your shoes off. Still having issues with my achilles tensor inflammation and being all taped up on my left foot and leg, it was a little painful to climb the limestones without the extra support of my shoes and orthopedic insoles, also the tape came off at some point. But it was still really enjoyable, I arrived about an hour before sunset, which was really stunning, even though it was pretty touristy. The rock pools are naturally formed by white limestone and filled with warm light blue thermal water. Unfortunately, due to increased tourism in the area, many hotels where build with thermal baths, taking too much of the thermal water for these purposes and leaving half of the natural rock pools in Pamukkale dry. Such a shame to ruin the place people want to actually visit in the first place.. I also explored some of the ancient city ruins just behind the limestone formation: Apparently Kleopatra used to come to the city to take a bath in these thermal springs. The ancient temple around her thermal pool has collapsed into the pool due to an earthquake though, so now you can take a bath while sitting on fragments of ancient pillars. Unfortunately, the pool was closed when I got there. After watching a stunning sunset with all kinds of different colours, I slowly went back into the village to have a look around an catch a bus back to Denizli. In a little shop, I found a nice postcard but the shop owner didn't want to let me pay and insisted on gifting it to me, being super happy about young people still writing post cards. :D

While waiting for my minibus back to Denizli, I was talking to a group of students from all over the world, who study in Denizli. I was sitting with them in the bus, exchanging experiences living and travelling in Turkey, when one guy from Pakistan asked me one of the most interesting and kind of weird questions I have come across during this trip: "Who gave you permission to travel alone by bicycle?" I was a little confused, asking what he meant and saying that I don't need permission to do this, to which he responded that I must have asked my parents or brother to go travelling like this. I again assured him that I didn't. I think he was a little confused about my way of travelling solo on a bicycle as a woman and said that it wouldn't be possible for his sister to do that, neither for him since his parents wouldn't allow it. It's always interesting talking to people with a different cultural background, he's 25 years old, living his own life in a different country but still cannot decide soley for himself.

Arriving back in Denizli and again had to figure out the minibus system of the city to get to my couchsurfer's place. I stayed a night a Simge's place, a psychologist living by herself in a cute little appartment with a cat. She had cooked for me a delicious soup and pasta when I arrived, even though I wanted to invite her out for dinner. Turkish hospitality at its best, I haven't made such amazing experiences in any other country I travelled so far! We were chatting and drinking tea until really late at night. She told me about the Turkish tradition of fortune telling with the remains of the coffee grounds in the little coffee cup. Mine looked like a scared ghost. :D It was really nice evening and I enjoyed spending time with her. :)

The next morning she made delicious breakfast for the both of us, we continued talking for a bit and I left her place by noon to head back to Izmir.
The trip to Denizli and Pamukkale, even though it was short, was really worth it, not just for its sights, but also for the people I met there, the conversations I had, for getting a glimpse of a city that's less touristy and inlands, and for learing how to deal with the minibus system in a strange place. ;)Read more