Spread across the plateau above the white terraces, Hierapolis was a Greco-Roman spa city founded in the 2nd century BC, drawing pilgrims and the sick to its thermal waters in search of cures. Covered by the same ticket as the travertines, the ruins are extensive and easy to underestimate: colonnaded streets, monumental gates, Roman baths (one now the site museum), a Byzantine basilica and the Martyrium of St Philip, the apostle believed to have been martyred here, all spread across a wide, sun-exposed field. This is a genuine ancient city rather than a single monument, so give it real time and expect a lot of walking with little shade. The layering of a working spa resort, a healing sanctuary and an early Christian pilgrimage site gives Hierapolis unusual depth. Wear a hat and carry water, because the plateau bakes in summer and the distances between the highlights are considerable.
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