The morning call to prayer was our wake up call. Whilst everyone slept and the sun was rising over the valley in Cappadocia, a group of tourists sipped hot tea ready to embark on a much anticipated hot air balloon ride. By 5:30am we were driving through the fields watching hot air balloon after hot air balloon inflate along Cappadocia. Jets of flames could be heard blasting into the gigantic contraptions. About 16 of us were huddled together and directed to our section of the basket. First priority was to be buckled in and shown the landing position. Once safety instructions had been given and a few long blasts into the balloon, we were up, up and away. Just in time to see sun creep over the mountain ranges and flood the unique rock formations with morning light. It was an awesome sight seeing 30 or more balloons float up over Cappadocia. At times some were so close their balloons were touching each other and at other times you had to hold your breath as balloons soared over top. It was a strange sensation in the sky, you can see your moving but there is little to no sensation of movement. An experience indeed! Gradually we drifted over the town of Goreme and just to the right of Pigeon Valley, in a field near by was our designated landing space. Suddenly our pilot shouted 'landing positions!' Quickly we all hunched down and waited for impact... Bang! Then back up in the air... Bang! Down again, rapidly our basket skidding along the ground for 30 metres before coming to a halt. By this point our basket was on its side and everyone had been stunned into silence... 30 seconds later all you could hear was laughter coming from the 16 passengers in disbelief that landing in a hot air balloon could be so...dramatic! In celebration of surviving the flight ;) a bottle of bubbly was popped and everyone was given a certificate, validating our bravery!
By the time we got back to the hostel we couldn't believe it was only 7am. Breakfast and back to the land of slumber. By early afternoon we were ready to be adventurous again. To get inspired a chicken kebab was in order and then the trek into the Rose Valley began... It possibly wasn't the smartest choice leaving at the hottest part of the day for a 6km hike, but there was no turning back now! The perks of leaving when we did meant that we had the valley to ourselves. As we wandered through the valley hundreds of small and large openings could be seen. At times we climbed up into the crevices to find rooms that may have once been living rooms, kitchens and churches. Amazing to think communities of people used to populate these rock dwellings. The closer we got to the town the naming of the valley was obvious as the rocks simmered red in the afternoon sun. By sunset we were ready to tuck into a typical Turkish dinner and relax over a game of backgammon.
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