What a place! Peter and I flew from Bodrum to Istanbul then on to Kayseri, which is the airport for Cappadocia, on Thursday afternoon. We arrived about 11pm then had to bus to the hotel. it was advertised at the Heaven Cave (?!) but we soon found out that all the hotels in Cappadocia call themselves something or another cave even if they're not. Ours was an old family home converted that was set into the rock so could passably be a cave. it was nice enough but they couldn't find the door key so we spent the first night and the next day with no lock. Up at 5 am to get picked up for our dawn balloon flight. Lucky it was getting on to winter so the dawn was later! it was -2c right through till about 9 am. We had brought lots of warm things. We watched all the balloons getting filled with their hot air then up and away. it was truly spectacular. Up to 200 balloons on most days. The geography is amazing and quite unlike anywhere else that we have seen. 19 million years ago three massive volcanoes went off. The resulting ash settled and became hard but not as hard as the surrounding rock so over years and years erosion ate away the softer parts and layers to form the weird shapes. They had natural cavities in the remaining shapes and the early Hittites carved out homes and refuges in them for dwellings. They hid from marauding Persians in them and the Christians later hid from their Roman persecutors in the same caves. The balloon landing was interesting. It sort of came down onto the tops of small trees and bushes to slow it down then ended up of the ground with a bit of a bump. We had to practice a brace position before take off. The pilot then very cleverly lifted it back up and put it down on a trailer. The baskets are quite tricky to get in and out of. We all had a glass of bubbly fruit drink afterwards to celebrate. They used to have champs but now a licence is needed. A very unforgettable experience. I couldn't decide which photos to put up so I did most of them.

After the balloon trip and breakfast we were on a small bus for a tour. The open air museum was interesting - our tour guide was very well informed. In Turkiye they have to be licensed and sit exams on history and geography etc. We got the usual high pressure rug sell at a hand made rug place, ditto ceramics at a ceramics place. We could have done without these two but they were just part of the deal. The underground city was amazing. Rabbit warrens of rooms and tunnels to hide populations in with defences such as twisty tunnels and roll away rock entrance covers. There are many of these cities but only a few open due to safety quality of the trapped air and cave ins etc. Our second day was a part tour then back to the airport. Quite busy but we had seen what we wanted to see.

The tall rock formations in the photos they call the Fairy Chimneys. Not so long ago the poor people who couldn't afford any better lived in these where they had carved out rooms. A hard life where water had to be carted in and waste out. their animals lived in with them. As tourism became popular these places were in high demand for hotels, b and b's, cafes and restaurants as if fact all of the cave dwellings did. Their owners became very rich very quickly!. Now many of these concentrations are government owned and only available for lease and Heritage listed (UNESCO). A remarkable area and well worth the visit.