Pamukkale and Denizli in 2 days: travertines and ancient cities

The finest way to see Pamukkale is to walk up the footpath that starts in the village. You take your shoes off at the gate; the white limestone with warm water running over it is soft underfoot but gritty in places. The slope rises gently, the pools turn a little bluer with every step and the village shrinks below. In the first hour of the morning the terraces are not yet crowded, and this is when the light paints them best. Because the terraces are fragile, you may walk and paddle only in the sections left open; stay on the marked path.

A few minutes' walk from the top of the travertines brings you to the thermal pool where toppled columns and marble fragments lie on the bottom. According to GoTürkiye its water stays at 36 degrees all year, and because Cleopatra is said to have bathed here it is also called Cleopatra's Pool. Swimming in warm water among the remains of an ancient city makes it clear that Pamukkale is not just a view but part of a healing tradition thousands of years old. It is charged separately; the rest of the plan works fine without it.

This museum inside the site gathers finds from Hierapolis and its surroundings. Giving it an hour before you walk the theatre, temples and tombs outside helps you understand what you are looking at among the stones. The finds tell the life of the busy city that once stood on these limestone terraces more vividly than the ruins alone.

Walk uphill towards the heart of Hierapolis. The theatre set into the slope frames both its stage and the plain below from its seats. A little lower lie the sanctuary of Apollo, the city's chief god, and just south of it the Plutonion, which the ancient world saw as a gate to the underworld. Together they best explain why Hierapolis was a city of pilgrimage and healing, where hot springs, toxic vapours and sacred places stood side by side.

In the afternoon head north. Walking colonnaded Frontinus Street you measure with your own feet the length of the main avenue once lined with shops and crowds. At its end you pass through the city gate to the necropolis, the cemetery outside the walls, where sarcophagi and monumental tombs also tell of those who came for a cure and never left. This is the widest and quietest part of the site; wander at your own pace.

Finish where you began. In the late afternoon light the white terraces look nothing like the morning: as the sun drops the pools take on the colour of the sky and the village below sits among long shadows. Take your shoes off again and walk slowly down the footpath. If you are staying in the village you can spend the evening there; if you are in Denizli centre, ride the city bus back.

After the crowds of Hierapolis, Laodicea is a breath of air. GoTürkiye describes it as home to one of the seven churches named in the Bible and one of history's great trading centres. With its broad colonnaded streets and large buildings it is one of the best places to feel the scale of an ancient city; visitors are few and the walks are long. With the audio guide it is easier to fill the gaps between the ruins with their stories.

A short cabin ride lifts you from the city heat to a cool plateau. The cable car leaves from a lower station in the Bağbaşı city forest, and as it climbs the Denizli plain opens beneath your feet. Up top, the Bağbaşı plateau, known for its olive groves, has walking paths, picnic areas and places to eat; lunch here, looking down on the city, is the most relaxed moment of the day. On a clear day, look out towards the travertines.

Back in town, take a short break with more recent history. According to GoTürkiye the museum fills nine exhibition rooms in restored early-Republican buildings. After the ancient cities it tells Denizli's own story, from weaving to trade, and how today's city took shape. It is a good way to connect the deep past of the last two days with the streets you are walking now.

As its name says, the day's last museum is devoted to the region's ethnography and to Atatürk. It sets the recent past of the people of this land beside the grand history of the travertines and the ancient cities. A short visit is enough; then walk to the Çınar area for dinner.

The last stop of the trip is at the table. Denizli kebab is lamb slow-roasted in a wood-fired oven, cut into pieces and served with tomato, onion and pide dipped in the cooking fat; it is registered under the city's own name. Eating it somewhere you can see the oven is half the experience. After dinner take an evening stroll around Çınar; if you are heading to the airport, one of the shuttle stops is here too.