About Travertine Tile and Hierapolis- Pamukkale

Hello everyone,

As you know we sell mainly travertine tiles at www.kesirtile.com and so today I would like to talk about what travertine tile is, how we grade them and finally I will talk about an antique city, Hierapolis- Pamukkale located where I live.  Denizli/Turkey.

About Travertine Tile

Travertine is a form of limestone with unique porous veins that give the milled tile their beauty. The stone is found in a wide variety of natural colors, and four different finishes may be applied to individual tiles. Travertine has long been used in many of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Today, in addition to being an excellent flooring material, travertine tiles may also be used as pavers, countertops, stair treads, columns, sinks, and even bathtubs. (Source : http://learn.builddirect.com/flooring/travertine-tile/basics/about-travertine-tile)


Travertine Advantages

Here is some advantages of using travertine,

• Travertine is a natural stone and it will increase the real estate value of your house. 
• Travertine looks warm and beautiful..
• Many different colors and size options are available. From Beige, Brown, Yellow, Multicolor, Red etc.
• Travertine always breathes and keep away mold from your floor.

Travertine Disadvantages

• Travertine is not very durable to freeze and thaw cycles. Because travertine is a porous stone, and especially in very cold climates, the water freezes and might break the tiles. 
• Travertine needs sealer when it is first installed and every 3-4 years it needs to be resealed. This means an extra maintenance especially when tit is compared with ceramic and porcelain tiles.

Hierapolis-Pamukkale

My family and I live in city of Denizli /Turkey.

In our city, there is an ancient city from Greco-Romans on hot springs called Hierapolis. In this very old city there are lots of ruins most of them carved from travertine blocks. Where did they find the travertine blocks?

Souce: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/485/

Hierapolis is located on hot springs so it is the source of travertine.

In the same area, there is a site looks like snow on it all the time but it is not snow it is white travertine deposited by water from hot springs.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamukkale

You can find more information about Hierapolis and Pamukkale from below links,

Unesco link about Hierapolis : http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/485/
Wikipedia links about Pamukkale and Hierapolis:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamukkale

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierapolis