Thursday, 29 December 2011
We had agreed on the previous day that we would ride on the hot air balloon over Cappadocia this morning – it’s quite costly at $220 per adult and $110 per child below 12 (that’s USD y’all. Turkey accepts use of the greenback extensively), add $10 if you use your plastic but hey, it’s one of the 1000 things to do before one dies. We left after morning prayers (the vehicle was to leave at 0610 but of course it didn’t as we had to wait for some people. No prize for guessing who) and went to Royal Balloon premises where we had our breakfast. Then we drove off to the ‘launch site’ and boarded a balloon (we had help to board. Some of the workers carried and dumped us into any of the four basket compartments of the balloon!). We took off before long and soon had a bird’s eye view of the fairy chimneys (or hoodoos) below us – the rock sites of Cappadocia are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a very cold morning and it even snowed briefly – tiny snowflakes.
Erkan had told us the flight would take us an hour so it was disappointing when it lasted barely half an hour. It did take us an hour getting into the vehicle from Royal Balloon premises to getting into the vehicle again after our ride. The foggy morning reduced visibility somewhat and I thought we didn’t flow over the hoodoos long enough (after a while, we were no longer flying over the hoodoos. Boo!). We subsequently told Erkan this and he called up the company to ask for a refund ;’) (of $50/adult and $25 for el niño). It would be better to come in spring or summer as visibility would be greater but I can’t see myself forking out another $220 for that hot air balloon ride.
We were given directions on how to land: you need to push yourself against the back of the balloon compartment, hold on tight to the ropes and bend your body slightly. We didn’t really make a very smooth landing and our basket was tilting until some personnel of Royal Balloon came to help steady it
We reached the hotel at 8.20 am and had another round of breakfast. Erkan told us to meet again at 9.15 for our tour around the place (but of course we left way after that).
Our first stop was Kaymaklı Underground City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent forty minutes in the underground, walking in the tunnels and public areas. There are stables, storage area, churches, kitchens and cellars. Only a fraction of the complex is open to the public.
We drove around and then went up to the Uçhisar Hill and Castle, a viewing platform (where I fell down for no reason at all. Strewth!) before heading to a gem store (selling mainly turquoise jewelleries) and then to another area to view the hoodoos up close. Then we went for lunch at Uranos & Sarikaya Restaurant in Avanos, a restaurant carved into the soft tufa formations. A satisfactory lunch was had by all.
After lunch, we headed to a carpet store/showroom. I didn’t want to buy any more carpets so was just content to sit back and admire the beautiful silk carpets. After the carpet shop, we drove on to Göreme Open Air Museum, the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent about 40 minutes there.
Our next stop was a pottery shop/showroom. The Cappadocia region is famous for its earthenware pottery, even back in the times of the Hittites. The red silt from the local river, Kizilirmak (Red River) makes good pottery although white clay potteries are better. We were given a demonstration on pottery-making and when the potter was done and asked for a volunteer, unsurprisingly el niño volunteered. After that, we wandered around the showrooms (there were two). I had wanted to buy some plates and was happy I managed to find some pieces there.
We returned to the hotel. It would be Turkish Dinner tonight at Yasar Baba Restaurant. We were initially reluctant to go (if only we had packed instant noodles, we’d happily stay in!) but was persuaded by Erkan to go. He even promised to get Murat to drive us back half-way through dinner. So we got dressed and just before leaving, realised our room key was missing... we ended up spending the next fifteen minutes frantically looking for it (the key ring had become separated from the card), looking in our bags and on the beds. Finally, we found it in at the bathroom sink counter and called Erkan who turned around to pick us up. We walked through the door, had some sweet drink and descended down to the restaurant area. There were many long tables with other tourists already seated there. We had some appetiser then the main meal (beef and pilaf rice). As for the dances, first we were treated to the whirling dervishers (didn’t last long) and then some traditional dances. Towards the end of the last traditional dance, the dancers invited the diners to join them (we didn’t). The three of us left way before the belly dance.
No, count me out of audience participation!
To be continued
We had agreed on the previous day that we would ride on the hot air balloon over Cappadocia this morning – it’s quite costly at $220 per adult and $110 per child below 12 (that’s USD y’all. Turkey accepts use of the greenback extensively), add $10 if you use your plastic but hey, it’s one of the 1000 things to do before one dies. We left after morning prayers (the vehicle was to leave at 0610 but of course it didn’t as we had to wait for some people. No prize for guessing who) and went to Royal Balloon premises where we had our breakfast. Then we drove off to the ‘launch site’ and boarded a balloon (we had help to board. Some of the workers carried and dumped us into any of the four basket compartments of the balloon!). We took off before long and soon had a bird’s eye view of the fairy chimneys (or hoodoos) below us – the rock sites of Cappadocia are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a very cold morning and it even snowed briefly – tiny snowflakes.
Erkan had told us the flight would take us an hour so it was disappointing when it lasted barely half an hour. It did take us an hour getting into the vehicle from Royal Balloon premises to getting into the vehicle again after our ride. The foggy morning reduced visibility somewhat and I thought we didn’t flow over the hoodoos long enough (after a while, we were no longer flying over the hoodoos. Boo!). We subsequently told Erkan this and he called up the company to ask for a refund ;’) (of $50/adult and $25 for el niño). It would be better to come in spring or summer as visibility would be greater but I can’t see myself forking out another $220 for that hot air balloon ride.
We were given directions on how to land: you need to push yourself against the back of the balloon compartment, hold on tight to the ropes and bend your body slightly. We didn’t really make a very smooth landing and our basket was tilting until some personnel of Royal Balloon came to help steady itWe reached the hotel at 8.20 am and had another round of breakfast. Erkan told us to meet again at 9.15 for our tour around the place (but of course we left way after that).
Our first stop was Kaymaklı Underground City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent forty minutes in the underground, walking in the tunnels and public areas. There are stables, storage area, churches, kitchens and cellars. Only a fraction of the complex is open to the public.
We drove around and then went up to the Uçhisar Hill and Castle, a viewing platform (where I fell down for no reason at all. Strewth!) before heading to a gem store (selling mainly turquoise jewelleries) and then to another area to view the hoodoos up close. Then we went for lunch at Uranos & Sarikaya Restaurant in Avanos, a restaurant carved into the soft tufa formations. A satisfactory lunch was had by all.
After lunch, we headed to a carpet store/showroom. I didn’t want to buy any more carpets so was just content to sit back and admire the beautiful silk carpets. After the carpet shop, we drove on to Göreme Open Air Museum, the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent about 40 minutes there.
Our next stop was a pottery shop/showroom. The Cappadocia region is famous for its earthenware pottery, even back in the times of the Hittites. The red silt from the local river, Kizilirmak (Red River) makes good pottery although white clay potteries are better. We were given a demonstration on pottery-making and when the potter was done and asked for a volunteer, unsurprisingly el niño volunteered. After that, we wandered around the showrooms (there were two). I had wanted to buy some plates and was happy I managed to find some pieces there.
We returned to the hotel. It would be Turkish Dinner tonight at Yasar Baba Restaurant. We were initially reluctant to go (if only we had packed instant noodles, we’d happily stay in!) but was persuaded by Erkan to go. He even promised to get Murat to drive us back half-way through dinner. So we got dressed and just before leaving, realised our room key was missing... we ended up spending the next fifteen minutes frantically looking for it (the key ring had become separated from the card), looking in our bags and on the beds. Finally, we found it in at the bathroom sink counter and called Erkan who turned around to pick us up. We walked through the door, had some sweet drink and descended down to the restaurant area. There were many long tables with other tourists already seated there. We had some appetiser then the main meal (beef and pilaf rice). As for the dances, first we were treated to the whirling dervishers (didn’t last long) and then some traditional dances. Towards the end of the last traditional dance, the dancers invited the diners to join them (we didn’t). The three of us left way before the belly dance.
No, count me out of audience participation!To be continued
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