Immense tiers of white limestone cascade down in the midst of a dry, dusty , barren landscape. The pools of Pamukkale are truly an oasis in which to submerge your senses as you gaze at the plateau which extends infinitely below. The calcerous deposits come from a warm speing which has large quantities of calcium bicarbonate in solution. When it reaches the surface, the calciumbicarbonate, already partly dissociated in teh water, breaks down into carbon dioxide, calcium carbonate and water. The carbon dioxide escapes into the atmosphere and the calcium carbonate is deposited as a hard greyish-white layer, creating a series of flows downhill, producing over time a terraced hillside of calcerous deposits.
Water dipping over the edge of the fanformations creates bizarre stalactic patterns.
Today much of the water is being used in spas recommended for the treatment of heart diseases, circulatory problems, high blood pressure, nervous disorders, rheumatism and eye and skin diseases. The ancient city of Aphrodisias, dedicated to the goddess of love, was a Hellenistic city which also flourished under Roman and Byzantine rule. Aphrodisias was primarily known as a center for the arts, specifically sculpture. The Aphrodisias School of Sculpture had a distinctive style and was very well circulated throughout the Greek and Roman world. Statues with corresponding signatures were discovered from Spain to present day Germany and virtually everywhere in the Roman world.