Flying high in Cappadocia 

Another overnight bus (this one replete with screaming baby and vomiting woman) deposited us in Cappadocia, a region in central Turkey, known for its moon like landscape.

Volcanic ash covered by lava makes up the topography.   Over the years, ash has been eroded, leaving very interesting shapes.  Fairy chimneys dot the Red Valley.

Clusters of phallic rocks gave rise to the erotically named Love Valley.

The Red, Rose and Pigeon Valleys are filled with old churches and tombs.  Early Christians fleeing Rome dug monasteries and churches into the soft rock.  Some have very ornate carvings and paintings.  

Under this strange land lie 36 underground cities.  4,000 years ago, the Hittite people dug complexes underground in order to hide from attackers.  We visited Derinkuyu, which is 55m deep, and 2 sq km wide.

Rooms are separated by very narrow passages, built to prevent invading armies from attacking en mass. Kitchens, bedrooms, stables, and pigeon coops exist in the underground city.  There’s even a winery.  What good would a city be without a winery!  If you can never see sunlight, and have to walk around in narrow tunnels, you might as well have wine.

Cappadocia is probably most known for hot air balloons. At sunrise each morning, anywhere from 50-150 balloons take to the air to float over the unique landscape. From this different perspective, the rock formations look tiny.

We were picked up at 4:45 am for our balloon ride, then driven to a valley to board our balloon as the first rays of light began to shine.  18 passengers climbed into the basket.  Propane was burned to create enough hot air to fill the balloon, and we began to rise high in the air.

I was pretty terrified, as I have a supreme fear of heights. (Luckily, I didn’t realize it was Friday the 13th until later in the day).  But, it turned out I had nothing to fear.  Our pilot was very competent, and I never felt unsafe.  Actually, It is very peaceful, floating along in the sky.  

Landing was interesting.  As the pilot aimed for a random open patch on a farm, we had to squat down in the basket facing backwards, and hang onto rope handles.  We landed in a ditch with a bit of a thud, and nearly tipped over, but the pilot managed to keep us upright.  Then, his crew, who had been tracking us from the ground, as they never know where the balloon will land, ran over to grab onto the basket, and prevent us from flying off again.

The pilot put enough hot air into the balloon to be able to lift the heavy basket from the ground onto the back of the truck which would later transport it back to the company.  At that point we disembarked, and were given celebratory champagne.  Except it was just nonalcoholic grape juice 🙁

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