Day 17: 2nd day in Cappadocia

Day 17:  2^nd day in Cappadocia

The alarm was set for 5am so we would be ready for what will surely be one of the highlights of the whole trip: a hot air balloon flight over Cappadocia.  This was a most wonderful experience.  Apparently the two ‘’must do’’ ballooning venues are Cappadocia and the Serengheti in Africa.   Having now done this, we can see why.   Ours was one of about thirty balloons up on that day, but our pilot told us that this coming summer, there will be as many as 106 balloons in the air together.  With each balloon having a capacity of twenty people, that’s something like 15,000 people a week – and that’s only for one flight a day.   He said that at the height of the tourist season, each balloon goes up several times a day!!!

Some of our blog readers will know of the dramas that we had in finally getting up in a balloon over the Yarra Valley to celebrate Roger’s 60^th birthday.   That was, of course wonderful, but this trip surpasses it.  We were taken (yes, in yet another minivan) to where many of the balloons were partially inflated.  Within only a few minutes, we were up in the air, ours being the first balloon to take off.   For the next hour we glided over the valleys of Cappadocia, dipping occasionally close to and around the fairy chimneys.  Several times, the basket of the balloon came to within a few centimetres of a rock formation.  Robyn and Damien were on the side of the basket that came closest to these, and they said that they were certain the basket would be scraping the rock.   But each time, the skillful pilot lifted the balloon just in time and up and over it went, leaving the ground unscathed.

With about thirty other balloons in the air, you can imagine that we went mad with photography.  It was an unforgettable sight.  There were several different companies with balloons up, each company having its distinctive colouring and design on its balloons.  In many of my shots, I was able to get quite a few balloons in the background.  With Damien’s more powerful camera, he was able to also get the snow-covered volcanic peak in the background.

As our flight neared its end, we could see four-wheel drives towing the trailers for the balllons, racing all over the countryside, following the balloon they were to collect.  We were incredulous when our pilot said he was going to attempt to land our balloon on its trailer – in fact, I thought he was joking.  But sure enough, with careful manoeuvering and the assistance of several strong guys on the ground,  our balloon was landed on its trailer!  There followeda fun few minutes when the 4WD slowly drove a few hundred metres with us still in the basket of the balloon.   This was apparently to find a better location for deflating  and folding the balloon.

When ballooning in Australia, the final part of the experience is for the passengers to assist in getting the air out of the partially deflated balloon and then in folding it, ready for storage.   This was the part we were not looking forward to.   To our delight however, the crew did all this part while we were served champagne!   For anyone visiting Turkey in the future, we will say that this experience is a must – and it’s only about half the cost of doing it in Australia.

We returned to our hotel for breakfast and then a 9:30 pick-up for the rest of the day’s activities.  The first of these was a four kilometre hike through Rose Valley, so called because of the red layers of rock running through it.  Although mostly easy walking, there was a bit of scrambling involved from time to time and we were glad we had worn our sturdy boots.   All this uneven ground, including the many cobblestoned streets over which I am walking, is starting to play havoc with my ankles, so by the time we had finished this walk, I was really in quite a lot of discomfort.

The next venue was a place that processed onyx and made jewellery.  There was the now predictable serving of Turkish and apple tea, the demonstration of the turning of a piece of rock into a beautiful onyx object, the sales pitch which included the promise of a good discountn because it is the low season and then the opening of the doors into the treasure chest.  Having written so cynically, I must not give the impression that I was not sorely tempted yet again.    I do not really care for onyx, but some of the jewellery was simply stunning!!   Diamonds, turquoise, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones, all set into the most delicate designs.  I let myself look longingly at one or two pieces and then of course, had to very firmly convince the sales lady who was ‘’looking after’’ me that I simply could not afford anything.  She seemed to be resigned to my declaration, but then, as I wandered the showroom for ten minutes or so, she trailed me,  every now and then alerting me to particular pieces, obviously in the anticipation of wearing me down.  I finally felt so spooked by this stalking that I left the showroom with relief.   Roger was, of course, already sitting in the bus – such a man!!

Another great four-course Turkish meal in another great reception place and then it was on to the last of our Cappadocia venues, the underground city.  This is one of around seven cities that exist in Cappadocia.   We were taken down five of the eight levels of this city, which is a maze of tunnels which open out to various rooms.  There are warnings at the entry to the underground city, that it should not be entered by those who have heart or blood pressure problems or who may experience claustrophobia.   Once inside, it is obvious why the warning is given.  The tunnels are very narrow and to traverse them, bending into a stooped position is necessary.  This was a tactic used by those who built the city and hid in it.  If the enemy tried to enter the city, they would have had to come in single file, stooped and therefore very vulnerable and to make their way down the maze of tunnels.  The occupants would, of course, have known short cuts where they could head off and ambush the enemy.  Throughout the city, there are several points at which we could see holes through walls which were used for spearing the enemy.   We also saw a huge flat stone, probably a metre or so in diametre, which could be rolled across a doorway, blocking the entrance to that particular area.   We saw a large room with smoke-stained walls and ceiling – obviously a kitchen.  We also saw rounded divets in the floors, indicative of where stone jars would have stood.

It was not long before we were collected for our transfer to the Kayseri airport for our 8:20PM flight back to Istanbul.  By the time the shuttle bus picked up passengers from several hotels and then travelled the surprisingly long distance (around 60km or so) to the airport, it was close to a two hour trip.   The plane was delayed at each end of the flight and so it was around 10pm before we landed in Istanbul.   We were grateful to be met and driven to our hotel by the last of our people organised by our friend Bilal.  This completed our wonderful,  trouble-free six day Turkey experience with One Nation Travel, another company for which I will write a very good review on Trip Advisor.

Back at our Istanbul hotel, we were able to ignore the wailing of cats and other street noises under our window and fall into a deep, well earned sleep.