By Caitlin
In central Turkey, at least a 10 hour bus ride from anything else in the country is one of the weirdest landscapes you will ever see. It looks like melting frosting and the home of Marvin the Martian at the same time. Even the name, Cappadoccia, evokes mystery and intrigue. More crazy then the landscape itself, is that over the centuries, people carved homes and churches into the soft rock. The miles of jutting rock lent itself to concealing early monasteries of Christians hiding out from persecution. A result of eroded volcanic rock, the valleys and fairy chimneys (as the odd formations are called) often reminded us of mini-Grand Canyons because of the layers of orange and red. If that doesn't grab your interest, consider that the locals call one particular valley, Love Valley, for what will be obvious in the pictures.
One of the biggest reasons Cappadoccia is such a tourist Mecca, however, is because of its famed hot air balloons. Cappadocia is such a well-known hot air balloon location partly because getting high up is a great way to see the unique landscape, but also because the sheer number of balloons in the air at sunrise provides an awe-inspiring spectacle in itself. A bucket list item for me, it was quite the dramatic endeavor, requiring you waking up at 4 am and head out to go to the launch site and wait to find out if the conditions are good enough for a launch. Our first day, they were not, so we had to start the 4 am ritual over again the next day. The hot air balloon was definitely a highlight of our trip. Cappadoccia is unmissable in my book, as it makes Turkey unique. Words don't do it justice and neither do photos but here is our meager attempt (click the photos to get an enlarged gallery)
One of the biggest reasons Cappadoccia is such a tourist Mecca, however, is because of its famed hot air balloons. Cappadocia is such a well-known hot air balloon location partly because getting high up is a great way to see the unique landscape, but also because the sheer number of balloons in the air at sunrise provides an awe-inspiring spectacle in itself. A bucket list item for me, it was quite the dramatic endeavor, requiring you waking up at 4 am and head out to go to the launch site and wait to find out if the conditions are good enough for a launch. Our first day, they were not, so we had to start the 4 am ritual over again the next day. The hot air balloon was definitely a highlight of our trip. Cappadoccia is unmissable in my book, as it makes Turkey unique. Words don't do it justice and neither do photos but here is our meager attempt (click the photos to get an enlarged gallery)
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