Cappadocia

This was the best and worst part of our trip. The biggest splurge and the thing that almost ruined it all! Spoiler: I end up on crutches. To read an overview of this full two week trip in Turkey, including our itinerary, head to our Two weeks in Turkey post.

Where we STAYED

We stayed at Hera Cave Suites. We had a great cave room and a huge, beautiful bathroom. The traditional Turkish breakfast was perfect and we had a nice spot to sit right outside our room. Sultan Cave Suites and Mithra Hotel are slightly more expensive options and they have been made popular by Instagram. They both offer amazing views of the balloons in the morning. Beware though, as you can be caught waiting in line to get your shot. This is because they set up a “fake” breakfast that you can sit in front of. This is the famous Instagram shot you see – people are often not actually eating there.

What did we DO and SEE

Turkey was a birthday trip for Nat, so we decided to treat ourselves and hire a private tour guide for Cappadocia. Turkey Tours arranged it all for us quite seamlessly, although it did mean I had to give up control… 

We began our tour with our amazing, intelligent, kind, fantastic (should I go on?) guide Kut. Our first stop was Imaginary Valley, where we learned that the other-worldly rock formations were formed by ancient volcanic explosions. We ran around like little kids, climbing and exploring. I was so surprised by the landscape – Instagram had fooled me into thinking hot air balloons was all Capaddocia had to offer. We spent the morning learning about the different stages of the fairy chimneys and visiting vistas. We unfortunately had some rain that came in the afternoon, so Kut re-arranged the remainder of the day and we visited Kapadokya Seramik. We watched pottery spun on wheels powered by feet, the intricate painting process, and Nat got to try her hand at the wheel. While we did buy two small pieces, I want to acknowledge that they were more expensive than pottery elsewhere. We were assured they were made and painted by hand onsite, however, there is no true way to know. At the end of the day the discrepancy wasn’t huge, however, do your research ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE GOING TO BUY A RUG, so you aren’t taken advantage of. There are loads of articles on buying souvenirs in Turkey, so I recommend doing some reading before investing.

We packed a lot in the second day, visiting Uschisar Castle, the Open Air Museum, the famous underground city Derinkuyu, and Pigeon Valley. We also made a special pit stop for Nat to load up on candies.

The Open Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site, allows you to visit cave churches with fantastically preserved frescos. This will be the most crowded place you will visit, but don’t let that deter you! You can learn an incredible amount of history here and have a unique opportunity to see preserved frescos. I found it fascinating that almost all of the faces/eyes had been scratched out. Our guide explained that the later inhabitants of the caves, who were Muslim and not Christian, did this, as their religious symbols did not include depictions of individuals. You can’t take photos inside of the churches, which Nat was sad about. However, this is part of why they have been able to survive so long.

The Underground city of Derinkuyu is not for the faint of heart. You travel nearly 100 meters underground. While neither of us are claustrophobic, I did find it difficult to remain at the bottom. While Nat was asking Kut interesting and important questions, I found myself “shushing” her in my mind, wishing to get closer to the surface! I am not sure if it was anxiety or if the air quality was truly poor, but I could not stand the thought of being that far underground. We were both in disbelief that several hundred people had remained hidden in the city for days or weeks at a time trying to avoid persecution. I highly recommend visiting Derinkuyu with a guide, as not only is it winding and confusing, it might also be hard to appreciate without context and explanation.

What about the BALLOONS

If you have the time, you should plan to have two mornings in Cappadocia. This is to have a buffer in case balloon flights are cancelled one day due to weather, or so one day you can fly and the other you can watch. If you are staying in Goreme, an easy place to watch is Sunset Point. You can walk up the hill and pay 3TL. It can get crowded there. You can also opt to hire a cab to drive you to a different vantage point, however make sure to arrange this the prior day, as you will need to leave very early in the morning. I have heard Red Valley is a good place to watch. I also noticed there were people who had driven out to the field where our balloons were launched. This is a fantastic photo op, however the location can vary. I’d suggest this option if you have a rental car. You will need to call the balloon companies in the morning to get the location as it can change based on weather.

A second morning in Cappadocia is also important if your flight is cancelled due to weather to see if you can secure a flight the second morning. Balloons can only fly in calm weather, so flights are often cancelled. Ours nearly was! We arrived at the office at 5:30am and had a nerve-wracking hour of waiting to see if the weather would pass. Thankfully it did, and we were able to have our awe-inspiring experience. Nat was deadset on splurging for the balloon flight, which is expensive. We did an hour flight and shared our basket with 14 others. It did NOT feel crowded, we were able to move around easily, switch places, and get great photographs. When we took off I don’t think there was a dry eye on our basket, and almost the entire experience was peaceful and something out of a dream. Which brings me to…

What went WRONG

Our landing! Who knew a hot air balloon landing could be so rough? We received very little instruction regarding the landing, just a simple, ‘bend your knees, and hold on’. Near the end of our flight I saw another balloon land and it looked like the whole basket nearly tipped over. There were men who waited for the balloon on the ground, and jumped onto one side to counter-weight it from tipping. Therefore, right when we were about to land and our pilot said “landing position”, I crouched all the way down as I felt scared I would fall out of the basket. When we hit the ground, we were tossed around quite a bit, and right upon first impact I felt a searing pain in my left knee. When I was much younger, I tore my ACL and meniscus in both knees over time playing soccer. Immediately, I became concerned that one of these injuries had happened again. The pain passed, and after the basket was steadied and we stood up, I told Nat that I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to walk. 

The men who waited for us on the ground lifted the smaller (i.e. me) people out of the basket and once out, I found I could walk and felt no pain. I was filled with joy, however some trepidation remained with me. We had a champagne toast with our new friends, and were driven back to the hotel. My knee was able to hold for the remainder of that day adventuring with our guide Kut and the next, flying to Antalya.

The second night after the balloon landing we were in Cirali and hiked up a mountain to see natural, ever-burning flames, Chimaera (highly recommend this if you visit Olympos or Ciarli). One we got to the top, Nat was taking photos while I relaxed. I went to stand, and discovered a familiar sensation I had not felt for many years – my knee was locked. I couldn’t put weight on my leg or straighten it fully. With the help of Carrie the owner of our hotel, Canada Hotel and Bungalows, I got crutches and was ready to hobble out the rest of the trip. I decided not to visit a doctor in Turkey, as our itinerary was jam-packed with flights and travel (we went straight to a three day boat trip) and ultimately I knew I needed surgery. We made the most it and I was able to get the surgery I needed back at home to remove the torn part of my meniscus.

So, a word to the wise. Do a bit of research if you have pre-existing conditions and know that there are few directions while you are on the balloon. It is up to your pilot to ensure you have proper landing positions, secure your gear, and that your landing is smooth. While 150 balloons fly every day and you hear very little about injuries, nearly every Turkish person who asked what happened to me expressed no surprise when I said it was from a balloon landing. At the end of the day, I do not regret going on the balloon. It was the most peaceful, awe-inspiring experience I have ever had. But…I do not think I will be going on one again anytime soon!

Hope this inspires you to get out, wherever you are.

-Nat and Riki