THERMAL WATERS
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Pamukkale Springs. |
Thermal waters, produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the earth’s crust, are used for a variety of reasons including medical treatment, relaxation, beauty and energy generation.
Because heated water can hold more dissolved solids, warm and especially hot springs also often have a very high mineral content. Due to the medical value some of these springs have, they are often popular tourist destinations, and locations for rehabilitation clinics for those with disabilities.
In some cases, thermal waters reach the earth surface mixed with mud and clay, which is then called a mud pot or a mud spring. Hot mud provides an environment with a long-lasting temperature that does not burn the skin and hence the deep tissues can be heated effectively and permanently. During a typical hot mud treatment, an inch-thick layer of mud at 45 to 50oC is applied on the skin for 30 minutes. Besides relieving the muscle pains, mud is also an effective treatment for chronic degenerative joint diseases and chronic rheumatic problems.
The quality of the water issuing from a thermal spring is at its highest level at the spring point where it reaches the earth’s surface. For this reason, treatment facilities, thermal pools and spas are often built close to the source sites.
Spas and Thermal Springs in Turkey
There are thermal springs all over the earth, on every continent and even under the oceans and seas. Because of its location on top of a major geothermal belt, Turkey is among the top seven countries in the world for quality and quantity of thermal springs with over 1,000 sites, with temperatures ranging from 20ºC to 110ºC.
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Fish spring. |
Tourists visiting Turkey for its world-famous thermal springs enjoy a wide-variety of services offered at public and private swimming pools, therapeutic pools, massage units, mud tanks, vapor baths, saunas and Turkish baths as well as diagnostic examinations available at nearby medical facilities.
Most thermal springs in Turkey are concentrated in the Marmara and Aegean regions, and because of their proximity to popular travel destinations such as Istanbul, Izmir, Pamukkale and Marmaris, those thermal spring sites are easily accessible via public transportation at affordable prices.
Some historical sites even owe their popularity to their thermal springs, like the ancient city of Koçhisar (Hieropolis) which was built upon the rich mineral springs of Pamukkale, and the ancient Lydian city of Sultaniye (Kaunos), whose people took baths in the mineral-rich muddy waters of Köycegiz Lake.
Famous thermal springs are concentrated in five locations; Bursa, Balçova, Gesme, Dalyan and Sivas.
The resort of Çekirge, to the west of Bursa, is the place to find numerous spas and spa hotels, most featuring beauty salons and health treatment facilities.
Situated on the ancient site of the Baths of Agamemnon - possibly the first hydrotherapy site in the ancient world - the Balçova hot thermal springs in Turkey are used to this day for their therapeutic capabilities.
To the west of Izmir, (which literally means fountain or spring in Turkish) is home to the sites of Sifne, Pasa Harbour, Büyük Liman, Alaçati and the Bay of Boyalik, featuring soothing springs and thermal baths.
Dalyan boasts the thermal resort of Sultaniye, where the baths have been in use since ancient times. Ruins from ancient periods are also situated under the nearby Köycegiz Lake.
Sivas Fish Spring for Psoriasis
The miracle of the Sivas fish springs occurred in 1917, when a shepherd with an injured foot found himself healed by the water from the springs. Since then pools have been built in the area and visitors come for treatment, some of whom have skin problems which cannot be cured by modern science.
The ‘fish spa’ is visited by patients suffering from psoriasis, a common and chronic skin disease. Positive results have been achieved through natural ultraviolet effects of selenium in the water at high altitudes, and cleaning of scums by the fish. In this respect, the spa is a candidate for becoming an internationally accepted and significant centre for health care tourism.
By Ertugrul Uzunoglu