Flying high in Cappadocia, Turkey

Waking up at just past 5 to Dan smiling widely as she snapped away a blissful sunrise. Still on the bus we looked out into the distance to see a sky of raging orange spotted with tiny little balloons; that’s when we decided we were going hot air ballooning in Cappadocia!!! Sleepless and still with eyes almost shut the four of us arrived at the bus station in Goreme and wandered up the hill in the direction of our accommodation; Rock Valley Guesthouse. Arriving into the small village was absolutely surreal, the landscape is like nothing I have ever seen before, giant white rock formations creating villages where four hundred years ago people once lived. We arrived at the guesthouse too early to check in so we spent the morning by the pool dozing in and out of sleep until hunger drove us out to search for lunch. We came across a cute bar; Fat boys, owned by an Aussie/Turkish couple which suited us perfectly with their gluten and vege menu (our friend nic is gluten intolerant and dan is basically a vego). We spent hours sitting on the floor cushions watching the world pass by, whilst also discovering cranium board game which saw us through to 5pm when we rushed home to meet our walking tour. 

The walking tour was the best 30 lira ($15) that I have spent in turkey. The walk was magical, we climbed to the top of the hill for a view of Goreme, as the man made buildings rolled into the rocks it was hard to simply look one direction. We trekked further over the hill and down into a valley where rock formations towered stories high, (somewhat resembling a phallic shape) some still with door ways and windows. This incredible mystical place captured my heart and stole my imagination, to think what it would be like to be here four hundred years ago when this was all the people knew. As the stinging sun shine down on us we furthered our journey into the rose valley, where the rocks are stained a light pink appearance. Stopping by at a still functioning church (within a rock) for some cold apple tea we then reached our highest point to watch the sun set. I felt like I had stepped into a story book; somewhere in a fantasy between the Flintstones and the Smurfs. After our four hour walk we headed back to Fat boys for some dinner and beers. We met a group of 7 Aussies all from Brisbane and played a big game of cranium with them! A lovely bunch, as we finished up our eve we swapped facebooks only to discover that our sister is their hairdresser to two of them!!! Small world! 

A small and shallow four hours of sleep later Dan and I woke to meet Nic and Callum down stairs at 4:45am to catch a shuttle to the hot air balloon. We arrived there to be organized into groups and grab a quick free breaky of weak tea and solid bread before making our way towards the basket with about 14 others. The bucket was split into quarters so the four of us had a corner to our selves. Two men controlled the giant balloon from the middle, and as the giant flame pumped and heated us up, the parachute of the balloon began to lift from the ground. Within 15 minutes of constant flame, the basket began to dribble over gravity and shyly rise. Before too long we were 1000m above the ground and taking in the picturesc scenery of the other floating balloons agains the colourful morning sky line. With a birds eye view of the valley we had tracked only the night before it made the formations look small but still impressive! Our flying time was an hour and 20 minutes, as the sun rose from behind the cloud we felt like we had caught the best part of the day! Dan and I returned to the guesthouse to check out and head to the humum for a massage before meeting nic and Callum for one final supper at Fat boys. 

Hanging around in the common area we wasted a few hours saying our goodbyes to our lovely new friends, we made our way to the bus station for our 7pm overnighter. Unfortunately the bus departed over an hour late, and again we spent an entire night sleepless and uncomfortable, reaching Istanbul just before 10am. We caught a shuttle into the city and jumped on the metro to sultanamet, to follow our lonely planet book a near by hostel. Luckily they had one room available at the Cheers hostel, so we put our bags down, showered and headed back out to make the most of our remaining time in turkey! We headed straight to Aya Sofia, a beautiful Christian church that had been converted into a mosque, where both faiths happily comply within the one building! We then spent the rest of the day shopping all the way to Taksim climbing along the back streets and meeting locals. Thirsty; we asked what the rules were against drinking in the streets (Taksim beers prices are ridiculously expensive), the men answered “no no you fine, you drink, you be in the street, you be fineeee” so this is just what we did. Our take away beers made for a delightful walk home with a brief stop at the main bridge to enjoy the Harbour view. Only a few block off from our hostel we were charmed into a carpet shop to sort through dozens of beautiful and naturally colored materials. Overwhelmed and tired we escaped after about an hour and finally retired in our dark private room. 

The next morning we woke hazy, to pack our things up and head to a station a few stops away to meet a lady CJ who we had met at Atillas guest house, she had an apartment and free beds and invited us for our last night. Taking her up on the offer we met her at the station and headed back to her apartment to drop our bags off. Her place was on the third floor in a small street just near by Fatih Jarmy. She has an adorable kitten which acts more like a dog, very playful and loving. The three of us then headed into the city again to catch a ferry over to the Asian side for the afternoon. It is very different, not near as touristy or expensive. Dan and I spent th afternoon getting lost in the alleys and popping into far too many shops before meeting JC back in the square near the bottom of the hill for some delicious calamari. We then caught a dolchen (like a taxi/shuttle, it waits to fill the 9seats to the destination then takes off, so cheap and fast!) we spent the evening chatting to some of her fellow teaching friends (most from aus) who were all really lovely! Heading home just before midnight to fall sleep to a movie.

Our last morning was rushed, heading back into Taksim to get some last minute things, then back home to pack and head off on the metro all before 3 to get to the airport. Checking in and customs were all quite breezy. Our flight departed just after 6pm with Turkish airlines, it was a fantastic flight, only two hours to get us to Tel Aviv but very smooth. What a delight Turkey has been.