Bathers enjoy terraced pools filled with the hot, mineral-rich waters of Pamukkale, Turkey's "Cotton Castle." The trickling water from the mountain's hot springs is heavy with calcium-carbonate. Over the centuries these waters have carved out large flat basins whose surface is coated with pure white calcium deposits.

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Turkey: Cross Fire at an Ancient Crossroads," July 1977, National Geographic magazine)