GOREME
Bleary eyed at 5:30 am, it's dark and a bit chilly as we board the group bus for the sunrise hot air ballon ride with Butterfly Balloons. But before we do that, we stop by their offices to register and have a quick breakfast, tea and coffee. Gratefully, these are smaller basket balloons which carry 16 passengers instead of larger groups up to 30 in a basket.
Region of fairy chimneys, mushroom tops, cascading cliff sides and underground caves were formed when Erciyes Dagi erupted. Thousands of years later, rain and Byzantine rule made up the current magical almost mystical looking structures. Tourism came to Cappadocia as recent as the 1980's and has since seen remarkable interest in this off beat location.
 |
| Inflating the balloon with fans and propane tanks. |
We arrived at the site to the powerful noise of propane tanks and fans inflating the balloons readying for flight.
 |
| Captain Mike onboard uprighting the balloon. |
 |
man oh man, it was loud and ouch... HOT!
|
Captain Mike Green gets into the basket and begins to crank up the propane to get the basket upright which means we are to get into place immediately. There are four small sections, the four corners for four individuals to fit and barely move. Once in the basket and off the ground the rise was surprisingly peaceful and tranquil.
 |
| Ready for take off! |
 |
| Getting a close up vantage point of a deteriorated castle. |
 |
| Mustapha's balloon close by |
We floated gently down a valley, across the land and through the valleys and at times rising 100 to 150 meters to get get beyond the other forty balloons in the sky. Captain Mike brought us as close to the fairy chimneys and churches as possible, at times brushing the treetops and tops of structures. It was an incredible way to see the region in the most wonderful manner.
 |
| balloons everywhere! |
 |
| Thirty to fifty balloons go up daily in the valley |
 |
| Fairy tale castles |
 |
| We got low enough to pick fruit off trees! |
As we readied for landing, his crew below in a 4x4 and trailer followed Captain Mike so that the basket could land on the trailer. I've not seen that before! It worked remarkably well. Once on the ground, the crew offered a champagne toast and presented certificates of completion. I daydreamed about the brilliant experience of calmly gliding through the sky...
 |
| cheers! |
HAMAM - TURKISH BATH
Took my clothes off and donned a red and white traditional cotton Turkish Bath wrap. First step was to sit in the stifling hot sauna for several minutes to get the toxins out. I know, sauna is supposed to be hot, but when the weather is quite warm it just doesn't make sense. I'm taken to the open Turkish bath where there is a heated marble platform that you lie on while the attendant begin the rinsing, scrubbing, soaping and more rinsing and more rinsing process. After few minutes of cool down and rest in the relaxation room the host comes to paint your face with a mask which in ten minutes gets rinsed off. The parading in public places between services is a bit odd but that's how it is done here! My reflex foot massage felt good though after all the ART I've had with Tracy,
HA!! :-)
ReplyDelete