Walking On Salt, ROMANTİK!

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First impression: surprise!


When we reach the edge intense whiteness gives us a freezing sensation. Glinting light to the west and gorgeous view..

Second impression: adjustment our feelings!
Crystals look deceptively like snow and ice.. but are we sure about it, snow?

Third impression: convinced!
Oh, not snow crystals like we guessed, but salt. That is really salt beneath our feet. We start to think about salt, that's one of our life's most important ingredients. Makes up 3.5% of a human body, and did you know... the proportion of salt in the world's seas is also 3.5%. Yes, it is extraordinary testimony to the balance of nature!

Located in Central Anatolia, 150 km SSE of (capital) Ankara, on the way to Cappadocia, visiting Lake Tuz (Turkish: Tuz Gölü) should be included in the itinerary of every Cappadocia traveler!


I saw the same lake twice during my two Cappadocia trips that I took this year, in august and october. Everytime I am amazed by the strange sight of the salt gleaming like silverline beneath the clear lake water. We did not mind sinking occasionally into the "interesting" patches of mud and took long walks across the lake. I enjoyed very much the sensation of wading through this unearthly pure white wonderland disregarding the splashes of water on my bermuda and blouse. Because it was much more romantik than walking on snow:)


Also called Tatta in the past, Tuz Gölü it is the 2nd largest lake in the country. Characterictically, it's shallow. Also one of the richest salt beds in the world! Due to its high salinity (33%), 300 thousand tons of salt is obtained here per year, and this is 60% of the total salt production in Turkey. From July to August, the lake evaporates into reflective white salt. After dirty layer is removed, the clean salt is gathered into mounds and loaded manually onto the wagons of mini trains. So it is how the {TUZ=salt} comes on our tables:)






However, there are some "very sad" alarming rates about this beautiful Lake that are dampening our mood! The water surface of the Lake Tuz decreased to:

216,400 hectares in 1915
92,600 ----"----- in 1987
32,600 ----"----- in 2005
---- no Lake? ---- in 2015

Due to the global warming, the Lake has shrunk by 85% over 90 years. If urgent and necessary measurements are not taken to protect it, TUZ GÖLÜ will no longer exist within 5 years.

Camel train
consists of a "thousand camels",
was each carrying up to
250kg salt
in the ancient times

PS- you can enlarge my photos

Intersection..... Glacial. 2 Degrees.

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Irrevocable cold, undesirable white of the Istanbul.

=getting closer possible with double click on my photos=

And now, all snow painting the town is making me think of warm and being warm. I am averse to cold and cold places either. So I was just browsing. Because it's the only way to move ahead without baggage...

Bodrum, my summer @2010

Supportive posts about Bodrum can be reached here:
B1 - B2 - B3 - B4 - B5

White Heaven

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L' antica città di Ierapoli fu probabilmente fondata da Eumene ll, re di Pergamo, nel 11 sec. A.C. Si suppone che il nome della città derivi da Iera, moglie di Telefo, antenati leggendari dei re di Pergamo.


Il nome di Ierapoli fu interpretato da alcuni anche come "città sacra". Tutte le rovine della città, tranne le fondamenta del tempio di Apollo, risalgono al'epoca romana imperiale.

Le terrazze di Pamukkale si sono formate naturalmente grazie all' acqua calda ricca di bicarbonato di calcio che scorre nella zona ad una tempura di 35gradi. Quando di biossido di carbonio, presente nel bicarbonato, a causa di una reazione chimica, si libera, deposita carbonato di calcio sul fondo dell'acqua. Questi depositi prendono diversi colori e forma oltre alle vasche, formano cascate e stalattiti. Una città ellenistico-romana della Frigia "Pamukkale", che in turco significa "Castello di Cottone" prende il suo nome da quente formazioni.

With its white and clean therapeutic calcium terraces "travertine pools" and natural geological wonder, "Cotton Castle", as we say in turkish Pamukkale is on the plateau at the top of ruins of the ancient Roman Bath Town Hierapolis. Very unique in the world and preserved by UNESCO Heritage. This area that blessed city Denizli in southwestern Turkey inspires many people tourists to artists coming to the warm spring waters that bubble to the surface that was a source of life for Hierapolis, one of the most prominent health centers of antiquity. Have to say, the average age visiting the region was, naturally, 115:) Tourists were coming mostly from the States, and following them France, Germany and Japan.

You can SWIM here, all year around, even in SNOW, and highly recommended not to leave without having a bath in the sacred pools where both Romans and Greeks that enjoyed historically! We stayed in Pam Thermal Hotel, in Karahayit, famous as a health center complex. Late evening I liked very much swimming in the healing powers of its minerals in red water that our Hotel provides (below). Amazing experience, love it!

Please click on my photos for larger size and
learn more about it:

http://www.pamukkale.org.tr

Change and Zen: 改善

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I can not think a life without kai and zen. I have worked on various projects including kaizen and found it to be both productive and efficient. Besides improving work life, it helps also for best personal development changing thoughts:

kaizen Noun / 'kaı.zen/ Suru verb / No-adjective

aaa1. betterment; continuous improvement.
aaa2. japanese philosophy stating the necessity for successive and incremental improvement in the personal and professional life of a person.



In today's Turkey, nomadic and rural women continue to wear their traditional dresses. Common in most villages is baggy trouser, a long sleeved blouse, a sweater-vest and a headscarf that is seen in a Cappadocian woman (above). In some regions in Anatolia we can also see felt cap that is embroidered in gold thread on men (below).

Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkish Republic, started his social revolution by ordering Turkish women and men to wear western style dresses on Nov 25, 1925 but dressing is slowly changing! Forces of the global economy have created changes in lifestyles in Turkey particularly since 1970's, however over 60% of the inhabitants of modern Turkey live in urban areas. Older forms of Turkish traditional dress which do not include western style is still worn daily.

As for myself, I have not been interested in our traditional dresses since I was a child. I even did not think to try a hat on my head. During our trip, it was the funniest moments with lots of laughs and jokes when my friends (from Rome) have been fascinated with our costumes. We all are a bit Turkish, here's the new portraits: inside italian - outside turkish:)









"Ordinary people can not. Only different people can create a difference. If you are working perfectly fine in the system, you will not change anything."
Seth Godin, American marketing guru, internet entrepreneur and thought leader. I like him, yeah what he tells/writes. He was one of the most valuable speakers at New Media Order Conference in Istanbul, Oct 26th