Day 5: Wednesday 2nd November 2022

Start: Cappadocia, Turkey

Finish: Pamukkale, Turkey

Currency: Turkish Lira

Temperature: Minus 1 degree Celsius at sunrise

Welcome back my literary friends!

Today we were up before dawn once again, to chase the sunrise! By 7am we were on board the bus and headed for a quick viewing point of the balloons rising across the sunrise. Be warned, this isn’t much of a photo shoot opportunity as it is located at ground level, so if you aren’t attending the balloon ride and opt not to take a taxi (the day before) and photograph the sunrise, this is not really a comparable alternative. During the bus ride, Mustafa collected our payments for entry tickets (my total was 1,190 TRY as I didn’t enter the open air museum churches yesterday, but including the 10Euro boat ride from the first night) others also paid for the 30Euro Turkish evening.

The next stop was the open air museum where we took in the sandy Fairy towers beneath the golden glow of the rising sun. Today we have a longer drive day again, travelling to Pamukkale. By 8am we were on the road with a stop scheduled for around 9am for bathrooms and coffee for those who missed breakfast after the big night of dancing and celebrating.

We stopped at a little old renovated building from the Silk Road passage for 20 minutes to allow for bathroom breaks and warm beverages while we took in the history of the building. At 9.45am we had a minor traffic accident which meant we needed to stop and exchange insurance details with another driver. About 45 minutes later we were on our way! Stops today were quite good, with decent bathrooms and access to plenty of Turkish Tea and Apple tea.

Lunch was a huge spread of salads and wraps with grilled meats at Cigerci Bahattin restaurant. We arrived by 12.10 pm and were eating happily by 12.30 pm. Complimentary tea was served as well as an enormous spread of salads, dips and breads. The chicken was juicy and tender and a few people ordered the liver skewers which were also juicy and soft.

Our final drive saw us stop a few times for petrol and bathroom breaks before arriving in Pamukkale by 7.15pm.

The Hierapark hotel is a reasonably big establishment, with three different ‘wings’. The ‘Hammam’ or Turkish Spa is located within the hotel and mostly manned by ladies from Indonesia and the Philippines. The group members who signed up for the hammam and massage said they had a great experience and the cost for the pair was about $70 USD. The hotel also had an outdoor pool and two heated thermal pools, one inside and one outside. Women bathing in the indoor pools are required to buy a ‘bathing cap’ for about 10TRY (less than $1 AUD). The hotel also sells swimwear for anyone wishing to swim but without a bikini or one piece in their suitcase!

Dinner was served in the restaurant in the wing opposite ours, where the buffet was included but drinks (including water) were extra. 1.5L of water cost 10TRY. Due to the mammoth lunch we ate, most people just picked at dinner, eating mostly vegetables and salad before trying out a selection of the desserts from the cake stands.

Tonight there is live music downstairs beside the pool and a belly dancer performing from 2130-2200 which we watched from our balcony. As I said, tonight is the Hammam night for anyone opting for the Turkish Bath and Massage which was arranged for 9pm.

Tips:
Accommodation: Hierapark Hotel, Pamukkale