The GradyBunch love an early start, especially when it means we’re heading off for one of our trip highlights – a balloon ride over Cappadocia.
Many of you will be aware that I’m terrified of heights, so I was a little nervous about being stuck in a basket hanging from a pile of inflated silk. However, if Bonne (my Mum) can go hot air ballooning in Turkey, then so can I!
I’m not sure when ballooning became the ‘must do’ here, but clearly it’s now a huge business. Each morning there are literally hundreds of balloons drifting across the sky, thanks to the hard work of thousands of locals on the ground.
By the time we arrived at our launch site, the majority of balloons were in the air – such a pretty sight in the sunrise.
Our balloon was slowly taking shape, and we hopped in… Moments later our pilot uttered ‘I’m sorry, we cancel, it’s safety’ pointing towards a large gaping hole towards the top of the balloon. The collective sigh of disappointment from the 12 passengers was loud, but I’m just so grateful that the person who flies the balloon has the final call on safety!
Hasty phone calls, and another balloon appears. By this time, it’s nearly 2 hours since the first balloons were launched, and the skies are starting to clear. This meant we had magnificent uninterrupted views across the Love Valley and the whole Goreme National Park – a World Heritage listed site.
An amazing and unforgettable experience for all of us, that somehow didn’t test my fear of heights at all, although I’ll admit that I only looked down once…
The ‘fairy chimneys’ are the result of volcanic activity and the erosion of sedimentary rock beneath the basalt caps. Over time, the fairy chimneys will continue to erode, form and fall. From above, we were able to get a full appreciation of how far the formations stretched, and how magnificent this area is. So glad we came down here!
The great thing about a balloon ride at sunrise is that the rest of the day is still free to explore. Our itinerary today included a hike through the Rose Valley, lunch prepared and served by local Turkish women and then a visit to the underground city.
The hike down the Rose Valley was a fabulous way to spend the morning. The weather was perfect, skies were blue, and it was so nice to be out and active in the fresh air.
Getting up close to the rock formations we could see the ‘Pigeon Houses’ that were carved into the side hundreds of years ago. These were built to allow people to collect the pigeon eggs, and droppings for use as paint.
Historically, the predominant religion in the region was Christianity, so there are many tiny churches and chapels carved in to the rocks. This particular one was tiny!
Some of the rock formations that have previously house locals are now becoming very dangerous and are uninhabitable. Apparently though, if you have enough money and the right connections, you can still buy sites and many are being renovated and converted to hotels (although I think the formation below is beyond hope!).
Our tour stopped at Pasagi – our guide’s favourite site. Here we could see the chimneys forming, with rows joined together that will eventually erode and separate. You can see the consistent line of the heads of the chimneys, where the basalt sits on top of the sedimentary rock.
This was also the site of a monastery many years ago, and we were able to enter a small house, with the kitchen, living areas and stable still clearly identifiable.
This town and country have their sights clearly set on the Tourism market, and some operators have really managed to build the end to end experience. Lunch was held in King’s Valley on a small farm that belongs to the owner of our hotel, a balloon company and tour company. Local ladies prepared an amazing vegetarian meal of yoghurt soup, stuffed eggplant and capsicum, salads, a chick pea dish and a pumpkin dessert. Fabulous food, in a setting that you’d find in a Spicers Hotel!
Last stop for the day was the Kaymakli Underground City. It’s hard to believe that 4000 people lived in this maze of underground rooms that go down to over 30m deep for weeks on end. The first few rooms and initial overview was enough, and the thought of tight tunnels further down saw us take the option to resurface pretty quickly. No miners in this house!!!
Dinner at a great local restaurant, and a short walk under a starry night, and our Geography/ Earth Science lesson was complete…
Love M & theBunch xxx
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