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Published: September 28th 2023
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Last night we walked around and found a restaurant that had a viewing area up high from which you could eat. We have a lovely dinner overlooking the town of Goreme which is lit up with lots fairy lights.
It was a very early call for both of us this morning. Jeff headed off for a sunrise horesback ride and I headed off for the Hot Air Balloon ride. We both had a 5:30am pickup.
It was a bit of a drive to the Hot Air Balloons and there were heaps of them. I later found out there are 162 hot air balloons operated by 32 different companies. By the time we arrived the my balloon was mostly inflated but the bursts from the jets were still lighting up the insides of the balloon like a lamp in the semi-darkness.
The basket we were in was divided up into cells. This was as much to keep people in groups as it was to help balance the weight inside the basket. We had about 24 people in the basket plus the pilot.
We launched before sunrise rising gently over Cappadocia. As we rose up the magnitude of how
many balloons there were and how far they spread out was very impressive. We rose to a height of about 100m and stayed at that height for a while as the gentle breeze nudged us along. Occasional bursts from the jets would almost fry my skull as I was positioned right next to the pilot.
The sunrise crept closer and the sky lightened and still more balloons were launching. We reached a maximum height of 800m which provided amazing views all around us stretching out to the horizon, but not for long as the action was closer to the ground. We floated over a number of the places we visited yesterday and were dropped within touching distance of some of the monoliths. The journey came to an all too quick end and we gently touched down in a field some small number of kilometers from our starting position.
At the end of the ride we were transported back to our respective hotels for breakfast before being picked up for the second day of the tour. There was a lot more of the same as yesterday but the stand out was an underground city. It was quite extensive and
was used for refuge by the local inhabitants when there was conflict or wars going on above. The passage ways were very narrow and low, so if enemies did get in, they would be forced to enter one at a time and this could be defended easily. We had time left at the end of the day so a trip to a confectionery store was added in. All the samples you could handle of all the varieties on offer - no wonder I'm going back heavier than I came AFTER riding 4,500kms.
We transferred back to the local airport and will catch our flight back to Istanbul airport. From there another transfer back to Istanbul will get us to the apartment some time around midnight. I think a pretty quite day will be in order tomorrow where all we have to do is arrange a transfer to the airport on Saturday.
It really is coming to an end. Reality beckons.
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