Cappadocia

Imagine taking off in a hot air balloon as the sun was beginning to rise over the Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia, Turkey.

This was something I could only ever dream of, but today I did it.

We arrived in the dark, passing massive balloons being laid out and being blown up in the fields around Goreme, and between the fairy stacks. Loads of them. As the sky lightened a little we watched the luminescence of rising balloons across the valley and in the sky.

Soon it was our turn. There were 20 of us altogether 5 in each of 4 compartments in the basket. Vu was our pilot in the middle.

We floated around the valley close to the strange rock formations and after a while we rose up to see the sun rise over the old volcano.  it was breathtaking - a whole sky full of hot air balloons, as well as down below in the valleys, the red and pink valleys. It was just extraordinary. We climbed over 6000 feet.

After an hour Vu started searching for a landing place but a breeze had come up apparently and he couldn't land where he hoped to. So we were up an extra 25 minutes and he came down in a place where the ground crew could catch the rope and pull us down to land squarely on the trailer, and save us from hitting Powerlines.

We drove around on the trailer still in the basket with the balloon fully inflated. Eventually we climbed out, and the crew set up a champagne and cherry juice breakfast. They decorated the basket with leaves and Roses. Some of them deflated and packed away the balloon. While I watched they called me closer, then lifted me up and threw me onto the packed balloon.

Back at the Prince of Persia Hotel we had to knock back breakfast quickly in time for the days tours.

First was an underground city for early Christians escaping from marauding Romans and other groups. In the middle of the day we visited the Fairy Chimneys and went into the home of someone who'd lived there for4 generations. Later in the day we also visited a Byzantine Monastery which was also underground. It was the place if Saint Basil, with early frescoes from 8th and 9th centuries, and plaster frescoes from later on 11th and 12th centuries. The Sercuk sultan protected the Christians and they honoured him in a fresco.

We also visited a jewellery, precious stores shop, with demonstrations of Torquoise  originating from Turkey) and sultanite, a crystal that changes in colour, depending on the light.

We visited a pottery shop and saw a demonstration of pottery making that dates back to the Hittites who were in the area for up to 3000 years bc, and revered nature.

I'm so buggered I've got to sleep