Turkey opens the Plutonium (Hell’s Gate) to visitors in September, which is called the ‘gateway to the land of the dead’ in ancient sources as the living were poisoned and died by the volatilization of carbon dioxide in the calcium-rich water coming from the underground. The cave, which was founded by Eumenes II, King of Pergamon in the 2nd century BC has been flooded by local and foreign visitors from the very first day.
A fascinating statue of Hades and the three-headed guard dog of Hell, Kerberos, can be found at the Gate of Hell, where dedication ceremonies were held in the belief that bulls poisoned and dying after entering the gate in ancient times were sacrificed to Pluto.
The Plutonium was unearthed by the Italian excavation team in Pamukkale and opened in 2013 to visitors before going under restoration, which is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
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