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This morning, I had conquered a fear and proven wrong the theory that I would surely burn or plunge to my death if I attempted the ridiculous feat of floating in the sky in a giant balloon, a complete slave to the weather, with no parachutes or any real control. I had jumped into the basket without hesitation, with a que sera sera mantra, and after floating over some of Turkeys most stunning natural scenery for close to an hour and then safely landing...I felt on top of the world.
So it was with horror and a sense of bitter irony that I contemplated a new end, just a few short hours later, at the hands of a large, bikini clad Turkish lady. And when I say hands, I mean boobs. As I gasped for breath, my face smothered between the deep abyss of her sweaty cleavage, my last 24 hours flashed before my eyes.
(Who me, melodramatic?!)
24 hours earlier...
I can't find words to adequately describe our first sight of the fairy chimneys in the region of Cappadocia (or Kapadokya, in Turkish). We had been driving down a dusty road into a desert-like scene, the sky a bright blue against the uniform sandy colour of, well, everything else. The road started to cut through small hills and we glimpsed one or two homes built into the sides of the rock before we pulled up, randomly it seemed, at a small strip of unimposing stalls. Tarik led us through the back and WOW!!! We were suddenly on the edge of a cliff, the huge valley below filled with the incredible fairy chimneys I had dreamt of seeing - and now here they were in all their glory. I actually choked up. It was a pretty amazing moment, and one that all the photos on google could not have prepared me for. It completely blew me away.
Tarik explained that the formations have been created over thousands of years, first by volcanic activity, which (apologies for the not so technical explanation here) flung the rocks out that now form the 'roofs' on the chimneys, while lava creates the ravines, and air bubbles created cavities in the rock. The ice age caused further manipulation and expansion, then finally years of erosion by wind and sand formed the tall cone shapes. Or something like that! So anyway, now we are left with these amazing formations which look like tiny little houses perched on pillars, and from ancient civilisation right up until the 1960's, people have made these their homes, carving further into the naturally occuring cavities to form rooms and windows and stairs. Very cool.
After checking in to our hotel, we all piled into the bus again as the sun was setting and drove for thirty minutes, seemingly into the middle of nowhere, before pulling into a small street in a rural village. We walked around the back of a house built into the rocks, where three generations of a Turkish family were waiting to meet us - our gracious hosts for dinner. They shook our hands and welcomed us warmly into a large cave room, where low tables and cushions were spread out across the floor for us - cosy and comfy! As we chowed down on four delicious home-cooked courses, the youngest daughter of our talented cook bounced from table to table, chatting confidently, plaiting Nicole's hair and giving the girls cuddles. Such a charmer, she definitely knew how to work a crowd! She told us she is twelve years old, but she's a tiny little thing. The middle daughter was a little shy, but as she sat beside me she reached up to touch my hair and said "beautiful!", and grinned happily when I told her that her curls are beautiful too.
Once we finished eating the tables were cleared away, music turned up and we were pulled to our feet to dance to one song after another. The family handed us wooden spoons and showed us a few traditional moves, and were ruthless in making sure everyone stayed up and dancing! The neighbours, young and old, all arrived to have a peek and join the fun - Tarik told us that as it is such a small and quite isolated village, this is great entertainment for them too! This is the only tour that comes here, once a fortnight in the summer months. After a lot of dancing, limbo-ing, sign language and laughing, it was time to go. The family all hugged us goodbye while the little munchkin handed around a sheet of paper for us to write our names in - "Facebook, please!" Too cute. It was a fantastic night, and it strikes me again just how hospitable and fun the Turks are. There's nothing staged in their smiles, it's genuine warmth and friendliness.
We arrived home after midnight and were awake again just a few short hours later, before sunrise, ready for a jam-packed day. It was time to get another look at the fairy chimneys, this time from a little higher up. After a bit of rock climbing experience I have no fear of heights..it's the falling I don't like! Bungee Jumping and Skydiving hold no appeal whatsoever. And, after reading a news article years ago about a hot air ballooning accident where the balloon caught fire, was sucked up higher and the occupants had to choose to jump or burn....well, I had been a little nervous about this mornings activity.
Not to mention the little story Tarik told us about a young ballooning pilot in the area who took a fancy to a few of his female passengers and tried to impress them by flying low over some houses, only to clip one and fall out of the basket. The three storey fall broke his arm and leg, ouch, but spare a thought for the poor people left behind in the basket and the mounting panic as the balloon started floating back up. Yup, thanks for that one Tarik!
As we arrived on site to a continental breakfast, I saw the first few balloons silhouetted against the twilight, the bright flames lighting them like lanterns as they slowly inflated and lifted gracefully into the air. Beautiful! My nerves instantly disappeared. We climbed into our balloon just as the sun started to rise, and floated gently up amongst what seemed close to a hundred other balloons. I've never seen anything like it. The bright colours of the balloons and the sheer number of them, against a backdrop of the sand coloured rock formations and the rising sun - unreal. After about 45 minutes of unrivalled views, our incredibly skilled pilot brought us to a gentle landing and then floated the basket onto it's trailer before helping us out and showering us with champagne. (Oh, and some to drink too)
Once we were back on solid ground, we spent the day touring the fairy chimneys and old cave homes by foot. Like children we crawled and climbed through the ultimate cubby houses. Simply amazing, and by this point I was well ready to make the claim that Cappadocia has been one of my absolute favourite sites not just in Turkey but of our entire European trip.
By the late afternoon we were all pretty dusty and exhausted, so what better way to relax than a traditional Turkish bath. Or so you would think.
When we enter the bath, the men are separated from the ladies and we're told to change into our swimmers and a 'towel' provided to us which is more like an oversized tartan tea towel. We sit for a few moments while we have clay face masks applied, then head into a sauna where we are told to wait. And wait we do. At first this is a bit of fun as we have a bit of a girly chat and gossip. But after what feels like hours and with clay dripping down our necks, we let ourselves out and try to figure out the next step. A shower to wash the mask off, and then I'm shuffled into a steam room for a few minutes, and then into the bathing room.
This is a large tiled room, with benches and taps around the edge and a raised platform to lay on the middle. A large lady with a big grin and minimal english greets me jovially. From here on in, modesty has to be cast aside as we are laid down tip to toe, the bikini tops come off and the bath ladies throw buckets of warm water all over us. "Turn please lady". I feel like a child again. After the drenching, she picks up a cloth shaped like a pillowcase, dunks it in soapy water and then it inflates and froths as she waves it back and forth in the air. It's quite graceful, I think, mesmerised. So artistic, like a dance. And then she uses it to scrub the s*** out of me. (excuse my Aussie). Not literally s***, obviously, but a good three layers of skin I'd say and the associated dirt. Quite rejuvenating.
I lay there with my face turned outwards, but trying to avoid any awkward eye contact, as she works her way up. It occurs to me that maybe I should turn my face inward, yes that would be bett..nope too late. I try really hard not to laugh as I am smothered in boob, but as she shakes from side to side with the effort of scrubbing, they start to slap slap slap and a little giggle erupts. This is completely ridiculous.
She dunks more water over me and we are finished, she ushers me toward the pool room with a wave and grin and I grin back. Let's pretend it never happened. I have a quick dip in the pool, wondering why they insist on bathing caps yet there are all these old birds in here stark naked and au naturale. Just sayin. At that thought I quickly exit the pool, then it's another shower, and a little kick back in the waiting room with some apple tea to finish.
So ok, I made that all sound like a terrible experience but in all honesty it was good fun, and my skin did feel great afterward. A must-do, Turkish experience!
What a day.
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