On two hours sleep and crunched in between two long bus rides we visited the strange geological site of Pamukkale in south-western Turkey.  The name Pamukkale means “cotton castle” in Turkish, as the ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of these weird white formations.  There are some ruins on the way, but the real attraction here is the hot springs.  The 17 springs in the area have temperatures which vary between 35°C and 100°C.  When the water, which is supersaturated with calcium carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide is released and the calcium carbonate is deposited as a soft jelly, which eventually hardens into a solid.  These deposits, or travertines, create terraces from the flowing water.  It’s quite stunning and actually looks a bit like snow.  But perhaps the most entertaining part of the experience was the glamour shot photo shoots that were going on – guys in speedos telling their bikini-clad girlfriends to “look sexy”.  Okay….

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