Thursday, October 2 –

Final transition day before the end of the tour. Hotel was extremely comfortable, so I slept well and was ready to head out for a short run just before 6:00.

As I jogged, I heard the call to prayer and encountered the men, making their way to the mosque.

Breakfast was, thankfully, much less chaotic than dinner, and we were loaded up and ready to go by 8:00. The entire morning was spent at Hieropolis-Pammukale, a UNESCO sight dating back to the 2nd century BC

This sight is famous for its thermal springs, used in ancient times (as well as today) for spa purposes. It was a major center for early Christianity during the Roman Empire. What really makes this sight special are the terraces of calcified minerals. They almost look like glaciers and are formed by the deposits from the mineral laden water.

Unfortunately, we encountered some more poorly behaved tourists who climbed onto the tiers despite the signs clearly prohibiting it. Taylan yelled to the to get off. After several minutes, he got security to remove them. (I would have politely removed them from the entire sight). THIS is why some many sight now have ugly fences. UGHHH

There was an area where we could remove our shoes and wade in which felt great on the feet (Dan, Mr, “I never go barefoot” declined the opportunity, his loss).

We then had the rest of the morning to explore. We hiked up the hill to see the newly discovered tomb of the Apostle Philip, then the theater (I felt the best so far), the necropolis, and the main street past even more travertine terraces. I really loved this spot, and we had a perfect day to explore it. Even the rude tourists couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm.

We stopped for lunch about an hour after we left Pammukale for another traditional (if too large) meal. The restaurant was very cute, and they specialized in grilled lamb, which they had roasting on a spit outside. We also had the most decadent dessert thus far–honeycomb, clotted cream, banana, and walnuts. It 100% cannot be good for you but it tasted good (well, except for the banana which was, ick, a banana)

We arrived at Kusadasi, our final tour stop, in time to do a little exploring. We strolled down the waterfront, checked out the markets, and then headed up to the hotel’s terrace bar for happy hour. Not surprisingly, we encountered a few folks from our group.

Eventually, we made our way back to the waterfront for dinner. We had such a big lunch, we wanted a lighter dinner and some fresh fish fit the bill.

After dinner, we took a nice walk among the shops. Kudadasi is a cruise ship port, so there are many opportunities to buy things we don’t need. Fortunately, we were not tempted. we just enjoyed strolling amidst it all.

Tomorrow is the final full day of the tour… hard to believe.

30,583 steps

15.5 miles