Fires of Chimaera
In western culture, chimera means an impossible or foolish fantasy, something hard to believe. In Greek culture, in the Illiad, Homer describes the chimera as a mythological creature; not human, but an immortal creature with a lion front, a goat middle and a snake back. And snorting out the terrible flames of bright fire! But in Turkey, the real Chimaera is fantastic. Eternal flames erupt from the rocky mountain side, not far from Olympus, the ancient mountain of the Greek gods. It is also known as "Yanartas" or "flaming rocks." This fascinating natural phenomenon burns with the breath of Mother Earth. About 12 flames rise-up from the rocks, with no apparent fuel to sustain them. These flames have issued forth from the earth for thousands of years. In ancient times, mariners passing-by along the Mediterranean coast used the bright flames as a landmark on their voyages. Today's visitors may use the flames to brew their tea, or on the evening of our visit with "KOSMOS" chawan, German and Turkish visitors were grilling their meat kebabs over the fires.
With honour and respect for these sacred fires at this ancient place of magic, we (Angela and Jason) offered "A Bowl of Tea in the name of peace."
Waters of Pamukkle.
Deep in the heart of Turkey is the primordial mountain of Pamukkle, with warm milky waters flowing down her slopes. For tens of thousands of years, the volcanic spring at the top of the mountain has deposited calcium waters into the bathing pools over-looking the town. The Romans built the city of Hieroplis and the temple for Appolo around the sacred warm water spring at the summit. The sacred pool is still there, and some of the marble columns from the temple.
Like any sacred place, guests must remove shoes before climbing up the mountain. The tepid waters at the base become warmer and warmer with each step closer to the source of the warm milky waters of Mother Earth. Half-way up are shallow bathing pools; and at the summit is the deep pool with hot water and marble columns.
