Weather - Sunny, cold morning, mild
Accommodation - Kapadokya Lodge
What an amazing day we had today. It started early with the balloon flight, a tour of unusual rock formations known as the fairy chimneys, a visit to a carpet factory and the afternoon was spent at the Goreme Open-Air Museum.
The balloon flight was an unforgettable experience. We were picked up at 5.00am and we were up in the air at 6.30am for a one and half hour flight above the Cappadocia region. The weather was excellent with no wind. We started in the dark and saw the sun rise over the amazing barren and unusual landscape. There were twenty of us in our large basket which was divided into four quarters. Our balloonist took us to 1400 metres and it was very cold.
Needless to say the views were spectacular not only of the countryside but of the 88 other balloons which were in the air at the same time.
They floated like Christmas baubles. At the end of our flight our experienced balloonist landed our balloon on the back of a trailer in a farmer's pumpkin patch which was impressive. We were given champagne and a certificate to show how brave we were!
After a late breakfast we toured the fairy chimneys which were created by volcanic eruptions and eroded by wind and rain into their unusual shapes. Homes were chiselled in the soft rock and today quite a number of them are boutique hotels. Pigeon houses which are common on the side of the formations were used to collect bird droppings for fertiliser.
The visit to the Turkish rug factory was fascinating. We could see why some of the rugs were so expensive with many rugs taking months and years to complete. There were beautiful traditional and contemporary designs using a range of wool, cotton and silk and a number of our group couldn't resist buying a rug or two!
After lunch we spent the a few hours at the Goreme Open-Air Museum, a World Heritage Centre. This was originally a refuge for Byzantine Christians in the eleventh century when they created chapels and living quarters by carving into the side of the hills. The frescos inside the chapels richly decorate the walls and are mostly well preserved to being inside caves.
On the way back to our bus Carol and Brian couldn't resist trying the sticky icecream. The vender was very amusing and attracted quite a crowd showing just how sticky the icecream was by holding Brian's icecream upside down.
Our guide informed us of the terrible bombing in Ankara at a peace rally killing 86 people and injuring many more. It's hard to believe the peaceful and sophisticated city we were in only one day ago could experience such an atrocity. Three days of mourning will now take place.
It was an early night for us after such an early start.
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