TURKEY: Sights of Flowers & Balloons in CAPPADOCIA

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Sorry it took long to finaly get to my last entry on Turkey, but here it is.

Here in Cappadocia I have:
1- hiked THE SURFACE thru villages, mountains and caves
2- I have gone 8 floor levels BELOW THE SURFACE at an Underground city
3- ... and so, the obvious next move would be have to be going ABOVE THE SURFACE, like 1100 meters above ground, on a... HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE

Yeah, I did it!
The minute I laid my eyes on the fabulous terrain all around me in Cappadocia, I said: "If I'll ever go on a hot balloon ride, it will be here".
And so it was.

There isn't much negociating on the expensive price, even if you shop around. But it's one of those unique opportunities, and once I made up my mind, I booked it. At 6am, just around sunrise, there I was in a "basket" with 11 other people, and feeling absolutely fearless.

It was awesome! The views from above amazingly beautiful and offering me a different perspective, as I now could see all the dinstinctive "pieces" of the landscape at once.
Here in Cappadocia, the shapes and colors of the mountains are very diversified, and it was incredible being able to see them all harmoniously connected by vineyards, villages, small canyons and fruit orchards from above.

Back on the ground, champagne (before breakfast), to celebrate the experience, and off I went back to Goreme to enjoy my last day in the area.

Village life and scenery have always captured my attention, as I feel very much at home surrounded by simplicity. Stone and flowers go beautifully together, and there was plenty of the duo here, as I will let the pictures show you. (click "next" at the end of the page to see all the pictures)

One word to describe the Cappadocia region: SPECTACULAR!

Definately on my list of places to go back to, along side Tibet and Laos.

Tchau for now and as always, I look foward to your comments.

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Photos

Evil Eye & Cactus to avoid the power of envy.
in front of our hotel "Aydinli cave Hotel"

Comments

[Born to travel]

Looks amazing!
Hi Patricia, How did you hear about this place, it looks so amazing! I love flowers and rocks, too, with deep blue sky behind of course. Well, guess where we are...Delhi, Pahar Ganj! We are taking a 24 hour train ride tomorrow to Calcutta - wish us luck!!!

[Patricia Somewhere]

Turkey vs Delhi
Hey Sharon. Delhi agaaaainnnnn? Are you nuts? I do wish tons of luck on the train to Calcutta and I am very curious about what you are going to do there and about the next stop. I heared from Cappadocia from a doctor who is a friend of mine and also from Turkey. I actually changed my itnerary in Turkey 2 days before departure to explore the region. It was amazing, beyond what the pictures reveal. Save travels and tell Scott not to eat any uncooked chocolate desserts while in India, as "his nurse" is too far for hotel room calls.