Walk the White Terraces of Pamukkale

In southwestern Turkey, a short domestic flight from Istanbul to Denizli and twenty minutes by road, a white cliff of travertine terraces steps down the hillside. Calcium rich thermal water has built the shallow pools drop by drop over 15,000 years, and you walk them barefoot through warm channels. Above the terraces stand the ruins of Hierapolis, the Roman spa city founded for these same springs, while next door Cleopatra's Pool lets you swim over toppled ancient columns in clear 36 degree water. September and October bring mild days and thin crowds.