Campaign Chunk Volume 11.07 – Pamukkale
Pamukkale is located in southwestern Turkey, Denizli Province. Its name translates to “Cotton Castle” and contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by flowing water and hot springs. The hot springs range in temperature from 35c to 100c. When the water, supersaturated with calcium carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide de-gasses from it, and calcium carbonate is deposited. This continues until the carbon dioxide in the water balances the carbon dioxide in the air.
The pools were often used by locals and visitors for bathing, with local stories suggesting that this has been going on for thousands of years. In the 1960 various hotels were constructed around the area, mainly in response to the rising tourism that took advantage of this, in the area once known as Hierapolis. Hierapolis was built on top of the white “castle” which is about 2,700 metres long, 600 m wide and 160 m high. It can be seen in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.
When Pamukkale, along with Hierapolis, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988, the hotels were demolished and the road removed and replaced with artificial pools. Wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits. It had been discovered that the hotels and other buildings were draining the waters into their own swimming pools. This was obviously having an adverse effect of the location.
Hooks & Rumours
- One of the pools is rumored to contain a small, yet valuable deposit of gold coins, hidden there many years ago.
- Another pool has, for some reason, started to become much hotter than the others on some days and cooler on others. There is nothing obvious to suggest what may be causing this temperature fluctuation and the particular pool has been roped off. However, some visitors are trying to locate this pool for dares and other activities.
- The grandson of one of the previous hotel owners is launching a legal battle against the authorities to gain compensation for his family lost income when the hotels were demolished. Many are trying to stop this lawsuit as it would not only set a precedence but also allow for new hotels to be made in the area, damaging the environment further.
- The Hierapolis museum was recently broken into. Although many small trinkets and artifacts were stolen, a crate that contained items that were found in one of the pools had also gone missing and appears to be the focus of the break in. As yet it has not been revealed what was in the crate, but a large reward has been offered for the crates return, with an increase if the crate and contents have not been opened and disturbed
Volume 10 of the compiled and updated Campaign Chunks is available at DrivethruRPG.com
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/184856/Campaign-Chunk–Volume-10–Mysteries
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