Turkiye Day 4 - Hierapolis Archaeological Site / White House Cafe, Pamukkale

Assalamualaikum. Marhaba.

Sambungan from previous entry (here).

Letih mendaki limestone dengan panahan matahari mengigit kulit, I had my brunch at the cafe up there. And actually lepas brunch, I went exploring the Hierapolis prior melepak layan blues in front of the travertines pools. Tapi saja buat separate entry mainly to avoid kebanjiran gambar. Senang sikit mau bercerita.

7 April 2015
Hierapolis, Pamukkale

"Hierapolis, whose name means sacred city was believed by the ancients to have been founded by the god Apollo. It was famed for its sacred hot springs, whose vapors were associated with Pluto; God of the Underworld. The city also had a significant Jewish community. It is mentioned once in the Bible when Paul praises Epaphras in his Letter to Colossians. Ephaphras was probably the founder of Christian community at Hierapolis. Today, Hierapolis is a World Heritage Site and popular tourist destination." -yahoo-

# Explanation of the Monumental Fortress. It is the largest monument at Hierapolis dating to the Middle Age. 

# How the Monumental Fortress looks now. 

# Water fountain

I walked upon the 2 kilometer road from the water fountains towards the Main Street Frontinus, not knowing that along the way each side of me is a tract of land used for burials called necropolis. During the Roman & late Hellenistic era, burials weren't allowed inside city boundaries. Hence the main necropolis was a short distance away from the city. 

Coming from the North Gate, I toured the travertines prior the Hierapolis city. If aku masuk via the South Gate, aku akan jumpa Hierapolis city dulu. And automatically aware that I will have to walk through the necropolis sebab depan Gate of Domitian ada signboard yang explain pasal this city. Alhamdulillah, malam tu tidur lena tanpa ada mimpi mistik. Drama sangat kan mindset. Asal limpas burial land, mesti benda ndak baik jadi. Choi betul. 

# Ruins of the tombs & funeral monuments. These tombs belonged to rich families based on its structures & complexity.

In Hierapolis ancient times, people came for medical treatment. The native people of the city buried their dead bodies in tombs of several types according to their traditions and socio-economic status.

Picture above is an example of Sarcophagi; a box-like funeral container for a corpse. Most commonly carved in stone & displayed above ground. Sometimes it may also be buried. 

# The main thoroughfare of the ancient city; Gate of Domitian 

The gate led into a colonnaded street known as Frontinus Street. This was where the heart of the city during the Roman times. 

# Houses, shops & warehouse were once here; under covered walkways.

# Also known as the principal street. It is paved & has pavements. 

# Once was a busy street. In the center of this road runs the main drain; covered with large stone blocks. 

# Large public toilet or called latrine.

After the Frontinus Street, I walked passed the Byzantine Gate. And continue walking through ruins of a huge agora. It's a marketplace in ancient Greece. Sambil jalan, sambil imagine macam mana keadaan di sana masa dulu. Tapi ndak boleh hanyut sebab jalan dalan ruins ni kena pandai cari laluan. Few times aku jumpa jalan mati & terpaksa patah balik. Belum cukup kuat untuk robohkan sisa runtuhan. 

# What's left of the Christian Basilica. 

Kali ni misi adalah untuk jalan sampai di hujung sana. Tu yang sayup-sayup kelihatan dari jauh (right side of the picture above). Memang gigih berjalan dalam runtuhan batu bata. More ruins on the hill but I decided to not go. Cukuplah yang aku larat jak, kalau melebih-lebih nanti bahana sama diri sendiri. 

# Ruins of The Cathedral; one of the principal buildings in the Christian city.

# I could't believe I managed to forced myself to climbed this 40' path. Mainly to get to The Theater. 

# Super massive!

This theater occupies four blocks; that's how huge it is. During its glory day, it could hold up to 20,000 spectators & had reserved seating for distinguished spectators in the front row. But sadly, only 30 rows of seating have survived. 

# Refused to go down. Cukup cuci mata from up here. Bongkah batu adalah besar, kalau jatuh...siapa yang susah? Kaki sudahlah kurang tinggi.

# Stage buildings decorated with reliefs. 

Tengah busy selca, suddenly this one Ahjumma tapped my shoulder. With a wide smile she offered to take my picture. Eh haruslah si Err ndak menolak! Tiadalah memanjang muka seketul jak dalam kamera. Gomawo Ahjumma.

Lepak kejap jak atas ni sebab aku sudah mula rasa bahang membakar kulit muka. Walau angin sepoi-sepoi, tapi sinaran matahari adalah super pedas. 

# Credit to Ahjumma baik hati. 

As mentioned in my previous entry, hasrat untuk layan sunset from the travertines pool terpaksa cancelled sebab suddenly cuaca jadi gloomy. Tanda mau hujan. So habis sesi layan drama hati di area travertines, aku atur langkah untuk turun pi pekan.  Mau balik bilik, and bersiram. 

On the way to the hotel, sempat singgah few shops. Cuci mata...pastu terbeli fridge magnet. Baguslah juga sebab lepas balik bilik, aku memang tiada plan untuk keluar meronda pekan lagi kecuali pi area tasik. So betterlah beli awal-awal. 

Sampai bilik...lepas bersiram, aku terus tidur. Gila punya penat! And I woke up just before dusk. After Maghrib, siap-siap mau pi lake. Sekali keluar hotel, sejuk tiada ampun. Bukan angin sepoi-sepoi lagi...tapi angin penampar keluar. Then ndak lama, drizzling. Haruslah on the spot batal niat mau ber-lake bagai. Marilah jamu perut. 

# Taken on the way back to the hotel after exploring the archaeological site.

Located just few steps away from the hotel I stayed at. Yang ni memang totally recommended in Trip Advisor. Gigih aku cari restoran apa yang paling famous. I came across White House Cafe. 

Masa aku sampai, tiada yang sudi menjamu selera di beranda. Sebab sejuk melampau! Masuk dalam, tiada meja kosong. Full house. So aku pun decide untuk take away jak. Tengah belek menu, tiba-tiba the lady boss waved & showed me a vacant table. Tadi memang tiada, tapi dia angkat dari luar. Semata supaya aku boleh dine in. Mampu lagi untuk say no? Terus duduk dengan senyuman ratu cantik. Fuh keperasanan tiada sempadan.

# Chef adalah husband & wife. Ada sorang assistant lelaki; said to be the wife's nephew. 

Live kitchen. Memang terasa macam di rumah! Meals is only prepared upon order. Part mau place order aku memang fail. Perut lapar tapi minda cakap jangan order banyak nanti ndak habis; sayang kalau membazir. Tengok menu, semua pun mengundang kejadian saliva dropping. In the end I ordered manti & a cup of hot tea. Fickle-minded.

# Manti (according to the menu). Lady boss told me ni resepi turun temurun dari nenek beliau. Patutla sedaps!

Dinner was superb delicious. It's a popular local delicacy. Mini dumplings stuffed with meat; and later topped with yogurt & secret sauce. I had to google the dish' name because I have forgotten what it is called already. Akibat bertangguh untuk update, thanks Bie. I key in the word Turkish Mandu & the word Manti came out. Dingdongdeng. Keyword Mandu harus ada unsur kampong. Sekian.

While enjoying my dinner, I noticed that people keep coming to this restaurant. But the owner had to turned them down because it's already full house. There were no empty spaces to put the table from outside. Memang terbukti kedai ni pilihan utama most tourist who came to Pamukkale. I read nothing but good reviews about this restaurant in Trip Advisor. I was lucky I came early else I could be one of them. Lady boss suggested them to go to other restaurant instead & I heard one of them said;

"I really love ur cooking. Can u suggest any cafe around here that serves delicious food like u?"

Nganga owner dengar. Terus sengih manjang sambil cakap we are #1 here. Without denying gitu.

Tapi bagus cara owner ni. Once diorang rasa ndak mampu untuk terima order lagi hatta untuk take away sekalipun, diorang terus inform customer. It was still early; ada lagi few hours before they closed tapi sebab sudah banyak tempahan so diorang terpaksa tolak cara baik. Demi jaga kualiti makanan yang diorang served.

Balik bilik dengan rasa senang hati. Perut kenyang katakan. It didn't take long for me to sail to dreamland that night. Proof that I was super exhausted. Penat melantun-lantun. Duh! As if u ran with the Torch from Istanbul to Denizli.

Esok pagi, bakal berkunjung pi tempat baru lagi. Another experience yet to be cherished.

eryantierdabdulkarim