Ballooning in Cappadoccia, Turkey

Prior to embarking on a once in a lifetime cruise from Istanbul to Israel and the Pyramids, we decided to start the trip with a bang by taking the opportunity to go inland and fulfil a dream. We knew it wouldn’t be an easy feat as my husband Gavin’s mobility is not great, hence we are often hydraulically lifted into planes. Travelling companions Alex and Joan were part of the Istanbul to Kayseri experience as is obvious in the photo. They thought it was an hilarious way to enter an aircraft. Especially as Alex is a pilot with Aerolinas Argentinas. Good to see things from the other side sometimes.

The dream of hot air ballooning once accomplished was so amazing, I wanted to share this extraordinary experience in Cappadoccia, Turkey,  with readers of the website in some small way. It went far beyond expectations, truly special.

The 5am start was not ideal but once we arrived at the take off spot it was fascinating to see the start up process and watch the balloons being inflated. The scale of the activity was far beyond any expectations we may have held, Gavin (husband) computed at 24 to a balloon there was about $2million turnover a morning, the scale was enormous. Gavin had to persuade the pilot to take him as he arrived on crutches and sign waivers and disclaimers but take him he did, thank goodness. I think the disappointment could have been lethal.

The take off was quite anticlimactic , the balloon seemed to float about a foot off the ground and then suddenly with little fuss or sense of motion we were in the sky, in the dark and just rising. In complete silence other than the oohs and aaahs of our fellow passengers. We flew at different heights for the hour or so we were in the sky and reached a height of 1200m approx - that was the stage I tried to slide behind Gavin and he confessed to wanting to sit on the floor of the basket; silly really as a fall from any height over 50m was always going to be fatal but it just seemed to be more scary at that height. I knew something was wrong when a jumbo flew past beneath us! Ha...
Whilst there was not a lot of breeze we covered a lot of ground, in a big circle initially , must have been some kind of vortex in play , we eventually came to be above a valley/ravine cut in fantastic shapes by nature. Man had then come and cut dwellings into the rock creating a unique spectacle. The pilot dropped the balloon into the ravine and we 'sailed' through the gap at treetop level, literally, we actually hit some - the willowy ones in the picture!

When the flight was coming to an end the pilot looked for 'a flat piece of land near to a road' and having chosen his spot in some poor farmers pumpkin patch yelled instruction to his road crew who then placed the basket trailer in the field and the pilot placed the balloon on the trailer- landed the thing straight on it! Amazing.
Then silliness erupted as the pilot asked the passengers to pitch in to trample the air from the balloon. I will never forget giggling people of all nationalities throwing themselves into the canvas and toppling into the folds. The trip finished with red cheeked people drinking bubbly and eating chocolate cake in a field, gradually being warmed by the sun’s rays as the day emerged.

Not a cheap experience at $Euro 160 per person, but if you ever get the chance this is written in the book of the same name as one of the 100 things to do before you die. Utterly memorable. Even the following morning watching the next day’s intake from our hotel room swan across the sky allowed us to relive the memory.