Thanksgiving morning we woke up at 5:30 am after arriving very late the night before. But it was all worth it because we got to watch the sunrise over Cappadocia from a hot air balloon.
This is a not to be missed experience. It is very pricey (150 Euros a person), almost $500 total. But well worth it. We booked through our hotel which has it's own travel agency that runs various tours. There was a 10 Euro discount per person for paying in cash. I did see an advertisement in town for only 110 Euros but I liked knowing who I was dealing with in advance for this excursion.
They start by picking you up from your hotel and taking you to their office area where they provide breakfast. Then they break you off into groups based on what balloon you'll be in. You head out to the takeoff area where the balloon is being set up. The ride itself is about an hour. Because there was little wind and we were having trouble landing our ride was almost 1 hour 45 minutes. Afterwards they give you a completion certificate and have a champagne toast. Let's just say Turkish champagne is not the good stuff.
The very cool thing about these ballooning excursions is the balloon operator/guide is able to get down in the valleys to see everything. We saw many old dwellings and churches carved into the rock, a few that are utilized today by monks. These dwellings were originally built by the residents of the area hundreds of years ago for them to hide from invaders. Plus the landscape is like nothing you have ever seen.
2 comments:
Incredible! I'm so jealous!
60 Minutes did a special on this last weekend showing the hot air balloon trips and a few of the paintings on the insides of the structures you saw. They were amazing to see on TV! I can't even imagine what it was like in person. The whole time I was thinking, 'Hey - I read a blog that just covered this!'
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