I forgot to pack my swim suit which is really a shame, because the only suitable thing I was able to purchase here in Turkey were Islamic-style swimming pants. Read: knees to waist, functional, unattractive. But when we arrived in the ancient Roman city of Hierapolis, I was sure glad to have them, because I would have hated to miss swimming in the Antique Pool.
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| The Antique Pool Hierapolis |
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| One of the sources of the pool |
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| Adnan came, he swam, he conquered! |
The Antique Pool, right in the center of Hieropolis, is warmed by hot springs, and the crystal-clear water remains around 100ºF (37.78ºC). People have been taking healing cures there for centuries ever since the Romans established Hieropolis as a health spa. These healing waters are supposed to aid in healing such ailments as heart disease, high blood pressure, rickets, nervous disorders, skin diseases, digestive maladies, and rheumatism.
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| Our (nearly) private pool |
In the 7th century a great earthquake caused the marble portico to fall into the springs, and there they remain today, a pool littered with fragments of an ancient past. Nothing quite prepares you for the experience of sitting on and swimming under these marble columns. Nothing quite prepares you for the feel of the hot, bubbling water or the smell of the rich minerals. And nothing will ever prepare you for the experience of leaving the silky warm pool and changing clothes in a 38ºF dressing room!
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| Yes, they are truly horrible....My pants, not the students! |
If one swim is supposed to extend your life by 10 years, surely the shock of seeing me in Islamic swimming pants lessens it by seven!
For this I am sorry.
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