Cappadocia from the ground and air

Cappadocia, in central Turkey, was a quiet heaven compared to Istanbul. Until of course, you hear the mosques at 4:30AM. Prayers flow through the speakers five times a day, every day. At some point you get so used to them, you stop and go “okay, any minute now…”

Turks in Cappadocia don’t mess around with breakfast: Three kinds of cheese, bread, butter, nutella, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggs, olives, halva, and tea all on separate plates. From our breakfast balcony we could see crops being grown on the hills and strange rock formations in the distance. The land seemed to go on forever, dirt roads that could take you to the end of the earth.

We walked out of town and onto a dirt path that led us into the hills and valleys, towards the hidden caves and crevices. In Rose Valley, we explored rooms and houses built into the side of mountains – some were filled with wall paintings and scratches from hundreds of years ago. There were windows cut into the walls, surrounded by colorful paintings. Cappadocia was a center of early Christianity and is famous for its ancient churches carved into the rocks. We found a peaceful two-story church carved into a stone outcropping and were able to explore its small rooms and large sanctuary.

Later we climbed down a ladder to a little restaurant hidden in the hills. It had small stools surrounding long picnic tables, and blankets and pillows were spread out on rocky alcoves shaded by wide pieces of fabric. We were served salad, lentil soup, manti (Turkish ravioli), and watermelon. Isaiah found a path that lead down to a creek, covered by a massive rock formation. It acted like a low ceiling, and made everything pitch black.

Hiking up to the top of the trails, you could see the weird, vertical rock formations making patterns in the distance. Some of these rocks are called “fairy chimneys” and are made when wind erodes the rocks into tall pillars, with wider more rounded tops. Wildflowers covered the fields around us and bordered the trail, bringing color to the tan background. Grape trees dotted the hillsides. It was the crazy dust storms that made us shield our eyes and finally hurry back towards the hotel.

We spent our second day in Pigeon Valley, named after the thousands of pigeon houses carved into the rock walls. It was much greener and denser than our other hike, but we still found caves to crawl into, and wildflowers covered the grassy meadows around us. About halfway through the walk, we went down the wrong path, and were guided back to the right trail by a local who was showing the way to another couple out hiking .We walked the rest of the trail back to the town of Goreme with them, talking about where we had traveled and giving them advice about Istanbul.The man who owned the hotel we stayed at insisted that we go to a certain restaurant for dinner. You have to make a reservation the day before you come, so they can start cooking your food—Testi Kebap, a stew-type dish cooked in a clay pot—for three to four hours. They break open the pot at your table and pour it onto your plate. It’s delicious, and definitely one of the best meals we had in Cappadocia. The restaurant we went to had about eight different spices on the table, and our waiter showed us which spices to put on each of the dishes.

By far the best part of our trip was the hot air balloon ride! There are 25 different balloon companies, and about 100 hot air balloons fly every day. The first day we woke up at 4am and waited an hour and a half only to be told it was too windy to fly. Day two was completely booked – all 25 companies. We FINALLY made it into the air on day three!! A van picked us up at 4:30am and took us to a massive open area where people were standing around in the half dark drinking coffee and eating pastries. Balloons lay on the ground, about to be airborne. We were given tags with numbers on them, and when our number was called, we rushed with 15 other people to our bright red balloon. We huddled together for a photo, and then climbed into the sturdy basket. The baskets are divided into five parts – two on each side for the passengers, and one in the middle for the pilot. Our balloon slowly started to fill with air, and fire shot up into its center. As we started to lift off the ground, we could see other balloons gaining height all around us.

The view from the balloon is incredible! You can see fields and rock formations for miles, and the houses look like Lego pieces from so high up in the sky. Far below you can see white vans driving down the roads, following their company’s balloons by radio. But seeing all the other balloons in the sky is even more amazing then the landscape. They are all different colors, and because they are steered entirely by the wind, some are way above you, and some are so low they look like they are touching the trees. The sun rose as we flew, and the balloons flying in the morning rays of sun was an incredible sight to see. We landed right next to a grove of trees, and I was so sure that the bottom of the basket would hit the trees. Our pilot somehow managed to land us perfectly onto the back of a truck, and the basket was latched to the bed of the truck. We climbed out and they set up a round folding table, popping champagne bottles in celebration (a long-practiced tradition in balloon riding).

-Natalia