Hierapolis

Some 18,500 visitors flocked to Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis on the second day of Eid al-Fitr, setting a new one-day visitor record at the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the western province of Denizli.

The figure on April 11 surpassed the previous record of 16,500 visitors in a single day, set back in 2019 for the region known as "white paradise."

The ancient city of Hierapolis, where lighting works continue, is preparing to host more tourists at night.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that they will start night museums in the ruins, including the ancient city of Hierapolis, soon.

In the first seven months of 2023, nearly 1.15 million people have visited the tourism hotspot Pamukkale, marking a 23 percent rise compared to the same period last year.

The Gate of Hell, (Plutonium), which was unearthed in 2013 by the Italian excavation team in Pamukkale, one of Türkiye's UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites, has been opened to visitors. Plutonium, which is called the "gateway to the land of the dead" in ancient sources, began hosting hundreds of local and foreign tourists on the very first day.

Famous worldwide for its mineral-rich healing waters and pristine white travertine terraces, Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis, located in the western province of Denizli, lure visitors during the fall season. The site has been listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1988. (AA Photo)  

Efforts are underway to make Pamukkale, where famous actors such as Nicholas Cage shot films, appear more on the big screen and become the promotional face of Turkey.

During excavations carried out this year in the ancient city of Hierapolis in Pamukkale, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the remains of two houses, which are said to date back to the founding years of the city, have been unearthed.

The Gate of Hell (Plutonium), which was discovered in 2013 in the excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis, located next to Pamukkale in western Turkey, and which was considered as the "gateway to the land of the dead" in the ancient world, is set to be opened to visitors this year.

In terms of a spa, I was sure it had no match in all of Turkey. Cleopatra's Pool, a miracle of nature in which thermal waters gently course over the ruins of columns at the ancient city of Hierapolis, transports the visitor back to time immemorial.

The engineers of thousands of years ago in the ancient city of Hierapolis, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, used various architectural techniques to protect the "sacred fountain," which they built 800,000 years ago.