Higher-apolis

Higher-apolis

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Hierapolis

I found myself in the town of Hierapolis the day after I went to Ephesus.  The night before was quite interesting at the hotel.  We stayed at this beautiful resort that was tucked away into the hills of rural Turkey.  The resort sat on top of natural hot springs.  The pools were filled with this water and the bottoms were covered in mud that squished between our toes.  It was so nice to spend a few hours just soaking in the water after going non-stop for a few days! Water is just so great!! It was also the first night that we had dinner where I actually ate more than a few bites :) The food in Turkey is just kind of weird, haha. After soaking and eating, I decided to go back to my room and go to sleep early.  Unfortunately, this did not happen.  Turkey finally caught up with me and I was super super sick! It was the worst thing ever :( It was terrible and I had to wake up my professors and it was no bueno! On top of being sick, there was an earthquake! I don't remember the earthquake because I was knocked out on stomach medicine, but apparently I was not happy about it :)

Hot Springs

The Muhlesteins and I

Me at Hierapolis

After the crazy night, we headed to Hierapolis to see the hot springs. They call this site the 'Cloud Castle.' The mineral deposits have left the whole area white. It was pretty amazing to look out over the are and see all white to the edge of the springs and then have a deep blue sky and bright green grass spring up.  It was just breathtaking! I feel like I say that a lot about Turkey, but there is no other way to describe it. While we were there, Brother Muhlestein talked about the significance of this site in relation to the book of Revelation. We then had time to dip our feet into the springs and then explore the sites.  We were on site for a very short time because we had a long drive ahead of us.  It was our last full day in Turkey and we needed to make it all the way to Bursa.  So after a few pictures and delicious sweets, we piled on the bus and drove for six hours.  It's amazing what you can learn about people on a long bus ride :)

Me, Elise, Erica, and Janess at Hierapolis

All pau :)