Cappadocia
As we slowly began to float, I felt the pleasant warmth of the burning butane jets behind me. It was comforting like a camp fire on a crisp fall night, only odorless and otherwise unfamiliar. Strange alien mountains began to take shape in the twilight. Thin and distorted rocks, which we called fairy chimneys, stretching upwards but not quite reaching us. Ridges and canyons began to open up below us. We sailed over this otherworldly terrain. Pilgrims on the horizon, seeking clarity from the heavens.
Suddenly, the sky ruptured with sunlight and the other balloon riders let out a soft gasp at it's magnificence. This unearthly land is not another world, but Kapadokya. And this view, made perfect by the first light, can only be truly appreciated from a hot air balloon.
As our graceful vessel rotated, another balloon perfectly blocked the sun and amplified both their golden yellows. I quickly snapped a photo, my favorite from that morning. A souvenir from another world.
As we began to descend, we made conversation with our balloon mates from Colombia. It was their first balloon ride as well. Our gentle glide through this unusual place felt like an awakening and no one wanted to go back to Earth.
Back on the ground we received a dorky certificate that proves we were passengers on a hot air balloon. Bubs took place in the hot air balloon tradition of drinking champagne at landing. I had some sparkling cider and overindulged in finger sandwiches. Our Russian pilot Yuri then became the first aeronaut (or hot air balloon pilot if you're not into brevity) to tell us of the champagne drinking tradition. According to legend, the first hot air balloon pilots invented the tradition. The year was 1783 and of course the people of France had never seen a hot air balloon. In order to calm the potentially terrified peasants, the pilots brought champagne to give to the peasants upon their landing so as to show they were no aliens. The tactic worked and the peasants were appeased. Voila! A tradition is born.
We made our way back to the hotel. Suffice to say, this experience was a highlight of Kapadokya but this was only day one!
After a quick nap, we went for a walk to the Goreme Open Air Museum. The site was fascinating and filled with ancient churches from medieval cave dwelling Christians. The murals are most impressive and reminiscent of cave paintings because technically that's what they air.
After leaving the Open Air Museum, we explored nearby Love Valley, named for the phallic rock formation. The formations are strange and lend themselves to some humors photo opportunities. Massive rock boners.
After exploring Love Valley we were tired again so we caught a cab back to our hotel. The cabs in Goreme are quite reasonably priced and as we would soon learn, they may go above and beyond a normal driver. When we departed the taxi, the driver handed us a card which we assumed was his.
The following day we woke up before dawn again. This time to smoke a hookah on the private terrace of our hotel while the balloons launched all around us. Another favorite photo in the books.
After having some breakfast we decided to call the number listed on the card which our taxi driver had given us the day before. We arranged to be picked up and taken to Derinkukyu, a medieval underground Christian city. When our driver arrived, we quickly realized he was not the same man from the day before. Nonetheless, we could not explain how we had gotten this new taxi driver's number as we somehow lost the card right after making the phone call. This was an unusual but happy fluke. This driver has been one of our favorites of any trip we've been on. This short and portly Turkish man asked us to call him 'Black Snake.' He sported a comically thick mustache and though not particularly big, had the quintessential appearance of a man who possessed 'dad strength.' We assumed Black Snake would take us to Derinkukyu, drop us off and we would take another taxi to our next stop.
Unbeknownst to us, the day we had chosen to go to Derinkukyu was a Turkish national holiday and several hundred Turks were also in line waiting to enter Derinkukyu. We had already come out to the city and did not want to turn back. But we were also hungry and didn't quite feel like waiting in line for 45 minutes. Black Snake sprung into action. He quickly went to the front of the line where he made friends with another middle aged Turkish man who let us cut in with his family. Black Snake told us to go to a nearby snack stand and get something to nibble on while he held our place in line and smoothed things over with all the people he had just cut. I don't know what he said to his fellow Turks but not a single person grumbled when we returned from our snacks to walk right to the front of the line and enter the city ahead of at least a hundred people. Black Snake said he would patiently wait outside and told us to take our time and enjoy.
After leaving Derinkukyu, we decided we wanted to go to Pigeon valley but also get a quick lunch. Black Snake knew the perfect place to take us to.
As we drove to Pigeon valley, we passed a prison. Black Snake told us it was an all inclusive resort and couldn't stop himself from making jokes about how the guests there never wanted to leave. During all the driving, Black Snake told us about his daughter and his family. He told us about the recent instability in Istanbul and Kayseri. All the while, cracking odd jokes.
The restaurant was on the edge of Pigeon Valley with a gorgeous view overlooking it all. More surreal rock formations but filled with pigeons. Black Snake knew we wanted a quick lunch, therefore he came into the restaurant with us and acted as a buffer for us and the waiters. The moment we wanted for anything, menus, tea or food, Black Snake was all over the waiters and moved the lunch along at the quick pace we wanted. The restaurant just happened to be across the street from a lovely jewelry store. Bubs got her fill of jewelry shopping for local stones, Turquoise and Zultanite. Consumption is alive and well, even in these alien lands.
We explored Pigeon Valley on foot while Black Snake awaited us. A beautiful place filled with pottery and evil eyes. A valley of different blues and sand stones.
We spent the next day visiting other local highlights with Black Snake. The morning had been windy and overcast. Sadly, the balloons had been cancelled for that morning. We visited other major locations such as Urgup and Uchisar but my personal favorite was Ortahisar. Before coming to Cappadocia, I had seen a photo of this strange building and the rock formation it is carved from. I had wanted to visit ever since. It was absolutely mesmerizing to see in person. I knew there was an angle of the castle which I wanted to see but didn't know where it was. I explained to Black Snake what I was looking for. Of course he knew just where to go. Taking us to a tea shop on a hill across the ravine, Black Snake found the exact side of the castle I had seen in the photo.
Despite my better judgment, I asked Black Snake where he got the handle Black Snake. Without missing a beat he turned to us and said, "I will show you... but only for 100 American dollars!" before he burst into laughter. Turns out some Australians had given him the nickname because he drove across the rode like a snake. A rather disappointing story. I suspect he just thinks it's a cool name and decided to try and rock it.
When it came time to pay Black Snake for his two days of driving, the price was shockingly cheap. We gave him a large tip as he had gone above and beyond in a way that few drivers have. He expressed how grateful he was and told us to come back and visit him. We took a silly photo with him, as we try to do with all the martians we meet along the road.
