Cappadocia: Floating in the Sky
In the early morning hours before the sun rises, we crawl out of our hotel beds, yawning and throwing on warm clothing. The chill outside quickly sets in as we wait in the dark for our van to arrive. Today we will do something I’ve dreamed of doing for a long time—watch the sunrise over Cappadocia from the vantage point of a hot-air balloon.
Our bus weaves its way through Göreme, a town situated among the eerie rock formations unique to this region of Turkey. I never get tired of seeing them and wondering about the caves and holes that peer back at me from within the rock towers. Who has lived here? How long did it take to carve out a living space from the stone? Even now some of the caves show evidence of current residents, with electric lines running out of their windows.
The bus arrives at a central office location, where we are instructed in the fine art of riding in a hot-air balloon. Most of the technique has to do with landing. Basically you squat, hold on for dear life, and hope nothing goes wrong, because there isn’t anything strapping you down. My friends and I reassure ourselves that this particular balloon company came highly recommended for its safety and experience. Worth the few extra dollars, in my opinion.
After drinking a cup of tea and scarfing down an olive roll, we load back up in the bus and head to our launch site. As we bump along, the sky is gray, and we can see the balloons being inflated all throughout the area. We pass by dozens of them. They slowly, silently rise and fill out, finally floating upright as the air inside of them heats up.
The sky grows lighter, and I wonder as we climb into the basket of our balloon whether or not we will be in the air when the sun rises. Our pilot, Serkan, introduces himself in perfect English. He explains that our flight today will take us up to 6,000ft in the air, and we will float over the Red Valley along our journey. At the end there will be a “landing party” with champagne and fruit juice to celebrate. Appropriate, I think to myself, to celebrate being on solid ground again. I’m growing a little nervous as the burner heats the air inside the balloon, and the basket creaks in protest at the upward tension. I can feel the ground falling away.
That moment—the transition from solid ground to suspension, makes my heart jump into my throat. There is no machinery, nothing mechanical making this happen. It’s just simple hot air floating upward—silently, smoothly, effortlessly. Everyone is glued to the sides of the basket, looking down and watching the ground get further and further away. It is a bit unbelievable.
All around us other balloons are rising too, and as we begin to see the whole Cappadocian landscape spread out below us, a piercing ray of sun bursts over the top of the mountains to the east. The sky lights up in gold, and an involuntary exclamation escapes from our collective lips as the entire group reacts, awe-struck by this glory. This, I think to myself, is worth every penny.
As the breeze blows our balloon gently along, I realize that the pilot is communicating with the crew on the ground about our location. We are going literally wherever the wind may take us, and the landing crew has to be there when we come down. We float past mountains and through valleys, nearly brushing the tops of the rock formations below, and we take turns pointing out wonder after wonder to each other. The other balloons look like little colorful pieces of candy suspended in mid-air. In reality, words can’t suffice for what we are seeing and feeling. Perhaps the pictures below will give a slight sense of our journey.
If takeoff made me nervous, landing was heart-stopping. We see a truck towing a flat-bed trailer, and realize that Serkan is going to attempt to land directly on the trailer. No way, I think to myself. But Serkan slowly lowers our balloon, expertly timing our descent and chattering constantly with the men on the ground. The truck slightly adjusts its position, and before we know it, we have landed squarely on top of the trailer. In all the excitement I realize I forgot to squat and hold on! Everyone claps and cheers, and we are welcomed back with the promised landing party. We all get certificates to commemorate our journey, but I know I will never forget this experience.
Interested in taking a hot-air balloon ride in Cappadocia? We highly recommend Kapadokya Balloons for the experience!
TO OUR FRIENDS IN THE WEST, KEEP LOOKING EAST!
Ginny Lou Henley
Ginny Lou is a co-founder of West2East. Originally from Alabama, Ginny Lou has called Turkey home for the past nine years. To read more about her, click here.