• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

A Mineral Forest For A Natural Spa

May 1, 2023 by Deborah Bloomfield

This article first appeared in Issue 7 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS. 

Since the second century BCE, the city of Pamukkale, which neighbors the ancient Roman site of Hierapolis, has been used as a natural spa. The ancient formation was once believed to have healing powers, decked out with hot thermal springs and white terraces that make for some pretty visually stunning R&R.

Advertisement

The natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey was made possible by thermal spring water that brought bucketloads of calcite into the region. It’s classed as travertine, a type of limestone that forms when a mineral-rich lake or river system evaporates and leaves behind a crusty, but admittedly quite beautiful, calcium carbonate trail.

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, it’s recognized as a site of cultural and natural heritage to be protected and admired. A fitting status for a spot that once bathed the kings of Pergamon, a Greek state that ruled during the Hellenistic period.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get every issue of CURIOUS delivered to your inbox free each month.

Hierapolis is the name of the ancient Greek city that was built on top of the travertine formation, which has been nicknamed the Cotton Palace for its snow-white limestone. The crusty cotton formed over millennia as mineral-rich waters dripped down the mountainside.

As a type of sedimentary rock, the travertine was deposited by 17 hot springs in the region whose temperatures range from 35°C (95°F) to 100°C (212°F), aka balmy to boiling. The milder temperatures made for a warming spa for humans of the second century BCE at a time when doctors considered it to be a healing center.

Advertisement

The site’s historic significance is remembered in a museum that contains historical artifacts including Bronze Age trinkets. Its past is also spelled out in archaeology, as the site boasts the Theatre of Hierapolis and a necropolis (ancient cemetery) with sarcophagi that stretch for over a mile. 

How to get there

The Çardak Airport is the nearest airport to Pamukkale. From there, it’s around an hour’s drive.

CURIOUS magazine is a digital magazine from IFLScience featuring interviews, experts, deep dives, fun facts, news, book excerpts, and much more. Issue 10 is out now.

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. UK PM Johnson to address lawmakers about Afghanistan on Monday
  2. Pandemic-hit Qantas weighs new pay structure to keep key executives
  3. Air New Zealand reels from Auckland curbs, Australia bubble loss
  4. Stranded Dolphins’ Brains Show Signs Of Alzheimer’s-Like Disease

Source Link: A Mineral Forest For A Natural Spa

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Martian Mudstone Has Features That Might Be Biosignatures, New Brain Implant Can Decode Your Internal Monologue, And Much More This Week
  • Crocodiles Weren’t All Blood-Thirsty Killers, Some Evolved To Be Plant-Eating Vegetarians
  • Stratospheric Warming Event May Be Unfolding In The Southern Polar Vortex, Shaking Up Global Weather Systems
  • 15 Years Ago, Bees In Brooklyn Appeared Red After Snacking Where They Shouldn’t
  • Carnian Pluvial Event: It Rained For 2 Million Years — And It Changed Planet Earth Forever
  • There’s Volcanic Unrest At The Campi Flegrei Caldera – Here’s What We Know
  • The “Rumpelstiltskin Effect”: When Just Getting A Diagnosis Is Enough To Start The Healing
  • In 1962, A Boy Found A Radioactive Capsule And Brought It Inside His House — With Tragic Results
  • This Cute Creature Has One Of The Largest Genomes Of Any Mammal, With 114 Chromosomes
  • Little Air And Dramatic Evolutionary Changes Await Future Humans On Mars
  • “Black Hole Stars” Might Solve Unexplained JWST Discovery
  • Pretty In Purple: Why Do Some Otters Have Purple Teeth And Bones? It’s All Down To Their Spiky Diets
  • The World’s Largest Carnivoran Is A 3,600-Kilogram Giant That Weighs More Than Your Car
  • Devastating “Rogue Waves” Finally Have An Explanation
  • Meet The “Masked Seducer”, A Unique Bat With A Never-Before-Seen Courtship Display
  • Alaska’s Salmon River Is Turning Orange – And It’s A Stark Warning
  • Meet The Heaviest Jelly In The Seas, Weighing Over Twice As Much As A Grand Piano
  • For The First Time, We’ve Found Evidence Climate Change Is Attracting Invasive Species To Canadian Arctic
  • What Are Microfiber Cloths, And How Do They Clean So Well?
  • Stowaway Rat That Hopped On A Flight From Miami Was A “Wake-Up Call” For Global Health
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version