We struggled out of bed at 4:30 after a very patchy sleep! I think my problem was a cross between the bed, my excitement, my two hour siesta, and my excitement (again!) Just as we were leaving, the 5 am call to prayer echoed through the town. We were dropped at the bottom of the hill at the Butterfly Balloons office where we filled up on fruit and breads/pastries as we waited for the signal to load our vans and head for the launch sites. There were five balloons ready to go up (I think – I was too excited to really pay attention! Or too tired!)
At about 5:45 we got the signal and we climbed into the van destined for Mustafa Günal’s balloon! Bring it on! We travelled about 10 minutes to the area around Zelve and then the excitement mounted as we saw the balloons inflating in the distance. I should add that there were already loads of balloons flying over Göreme when we left. It looks like they launched from the valley just beside the town. It was incredible to see so many! And with such striking landscapes. A bit different from the Wellsville NY balloon rally from the old days!!
We arrived at the launch site just as the pilot started with the burner to lift the balloon and basket to a standing position. We were 16 passengers (4 in each of the 4 corners). The sides are much higher than I’m used to but there were little slots to help give a leg up! Before we knew it, we were all loaded and ready for lift off!
As usual, the actual lift off was almost imperceptible – suddenly we were flying!!! It was so amazing! We were the only balloons launching from this area and in fact we never really caught up with the others so it was so peaceful.
We flew over Pasabagi, Zelve Valley and the open air museum there, and everywhere else in between!
We dipped down low….
… soared up high…
… and even had a close encounter with another Butterfly balloon.
A little too close maybe!!! With the sun behind us, we could only see one balloon shadow but 2 baskets!!! Fun times. Sort of!
The most amazing moment though had to be the landing….directly onto the trailer!
They strapped us on and then we moved a few meters to a more appropriate space to deflate the balloon! Incredible! We even had a hand in pushing the air out of the envelope! Then it was time for the certificates and champagne toast.
It is truly hard to describe the sensation of hot air ballooning and even harder to describe the sensation of ballooning in Cappadocia. It’s a pricey venture (we paid 160 euro each for the 70 minute flight) but if the budget allows, it is an experience that can’t be missed. I especially enjoyed it as it brought me back to our crew days with the Guest family in Walkerton. Those were special times so it was great to be able to take to the skies again after so many years.
And our day was just beginning! After getting dropped off, I ran down the hill quickly to catch two girls from New Mexico who were in our balloon to try and see if we could meet up later. They were having camera troubles and the engineers (and camera aficionados) of the group offered to take a look. As with many best laid plans we never did cross paths again, but we hope the camera problem got solved eventually!
At 8:30 we were off on a tractor drawn wagon to the King’s Valley for a delicious organic breakfast. This was hosted by the Kelebek Hotel’s owner, Ali. He told us stories about growing up in Göreme when the only industry was agriculture. How he used to climb down into this valley to harvest fruit and then have to climb back out carrying 45 kg on his back. How his older brothers left to get jobs in order to buy a tractor. When the difference between a rich family and a poor family was that a poor family had a donkey and the rich family had a horse and a donkey. And Ali is not an old man!!
Tourism didn’t arrive in Cappadocia until about 1985 and even then didn’t really “take off” until the 90s. We saw many pigeon holes in the fairy chimneys and rock faces. The pigeon excrement was (and still is) used as fertilizer. Ali assured us that we would taste the difference in the tomatoes and fresh produce at breakfast!
Banquet is probably the more appropriate term for the meal we shared. Wow. There was barely room the tables for our plates! Tomatoes, cucumber, yogurt, fresh honey dripping from the honeycomb, various cheeses, apricots, plums, prunes, olives, amazing bread out of the stone oven behind us, a plates of greens that no one touched (not really sure what to do with them!), omelettes, and all that topped off with tea and freshly squeezed orange juice and lemonade! Seriously amazing!
Luckily after such a spread, we didn’t have to climb back out of the valley! We went up a little way and then the tractor picked us up for the ride back. This was definitely another highlight of Cappadocia. There were people at the breakfast from other hotels, so even if you don’t stay at the Kelebek, check it out and prepare yourself for a treat! We were gone from 8:30 until 11 am, and there was no extra charge for Kelebek residents.
Once again we were faced with the difficult decision of what to do….the hotel is just too nice! In the end we went with relaxation! Some swimming, lounging, gazing at the views, and general contemplation!
Eventually we mustered up the energy (and room) for a little bit of lunch. Carlos and I split köfte and an eggplant salad. The salad was good but there was a mysterious celery like ingredient that was quite spicy! By now we just couldn’t justify more relaxation – after all, we were in Cappadocia and the fairy chimneys were beckoning!
We decided to walk towards the Zemi and Görkündere Valleys just on the other side of the sunset point. As we walked into town, I got stung by a bee!!! Or something equally painful! I suspect it was caught in the hem of my shorts since it was right at that level and there is no other explanation for its hostile action! I’m the only person who doesn’t freak out when a bee comes close! Anyway, I was still able to walk although with a bit of numbness!
We took the road to the open air museum and then deviated to the right at the big Tourist Hotel just outside of town. We decided to try our luck with the Zemi Valley. After just a dozen meters or so, we met two girls who told us that the path was closed further ahead so back we turned to the Görkündere Valley! (Can you spot Virginia in the photo below??)
We only walked for about half an hour because we eventually lost a clear view to what would actually be the trail! It was also getting pretty close to sunset and we didn’t want to be caught out after dark! It was so cool though to be in among the fairy chimneys and towering rocks.
On our way back to the hotel Virginia and I got sucked in to some shopping! We were both looking for little change purses (V for gifts and me since mine literally kicked the bucket 2 days before leaving for Athens!) and dreaded the thought of bargaining in the Grand Bazaar back in Istanbul. We found a great shop on the main street on the left as you come into town. Lots of choice and much cheapness! The purses were only 1.25 TL! It was fabulous!
Now we had to scoot back to the hotel to change and get ready for the next item on the agenda – a Whirling Dervishes experience. We were picked up at 8:30 pm and were whisked off to the middle of nowhere (somewhere out past Avanos) and entered a grand palacial setting. The Whirling Dervishes were unlike anything we thought they’d be! We had no idea that it was a religious sect and that the act of spinning is their way of reaching a higher level of being. It was literally 40 minutes of spinning. There were 5 men spinning and one observing. There was also a group of men playing instruments behind them. Very different and definitely an experience to see the intensity of the ritual. It is not a show!!! It was very serious and there was no photography allowed until after the ritual was completed and they returned to do a quick demonstration for photos.
Afterwards it was back to our cave and a deep sleep! I didn’t even hear the 5 am call to prayer!