Cappadocia is situated in an area which is largely in
Nevsehir. The region has incredible rocky landscape. Various contours, colours
and shape of Rocky Mountains. The landscape is very different from other places
visited by me, and I am still AW-STRUCK.
We took a flight from Antalya to Cappadocia (Pegasus Airline
from Antalya to Kayseri). Reached
Kayseri in the evening and took a bus provided by our tour operator to the
hotel.
All of us had one goal for Cappadocia…..The Hot Air Balloon
Ride. Though our tour operator had given us an option to book it, we found it
quite expensive and did our own R&D and booked it for the next morning and
saved almost 100 Euro.
Though it took quiet of our adrenaline rush to settle down with the booking, negations
and availability.
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| View from our Balloon |
The deal consisted of pick & drop to hotel + the 1st
ride + some snacks. It is always advised to go for the 1st ride as
you get to see the sunrise (now does that bring a smile to your face…) and the weather and
wind both stays pleasant.
We were supposed to get picked up by 3 am and driven to the
spot from where to board the balloon, Goreme. The driver was 15 min late but
made sure, we reach safe and on time.
The very first sight of the balloon getting filled up with
hot air is very thrilling. All of sudden around you, you will find different
colours of balloon ready for you to board in. They are all giant size balloons.
We took the first balloon that was filled up. With every flight there is a
captain who guides the balloon and keeps a tap on the air pressure. The captain
to our flight was a handsome gentlemen Yilmaz, who pepped up all of us and
guided through the contour we were flying.
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| Sunrise as we see |
We flew over Rose valley, Experienced the sunrise, we
sometimes flew as high as 10,000 ft and as low as you could touch the grass. In
total the experience was amazing and not to be missed. Total flight time was 1
and a half hour. When we landed, the entire crew opened up Champagne and gave
us certificates as a good gesture. (Quite a nice Gesture).
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| Flying over Rose valley |
By 9am we were back to hotel, and got ready for the second
phase of the tour. We were visiting the Kyamakli Underground city. The entire
underground city is dug deep into the soft volcanic rock. These century old
underground dwellings is believed to be used as hiding shelter by the inhabitants.
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| Kyamalki Underground City |
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| Inside the underground city |
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| Entry And Exit to the Underground City |
You need to buy an entry ticket to visit it. And please be
in your most comfortable dress and shoes you can be. It takes a lot of bending
and climbing & crawling to explore the underground city. It’s very fascinating
to see how once people dwelled in here. You can see how their bedroom looked
like, their kitchen, and toilets, grain storage, Church, wine cellar. You might
feel a bit claustrophobic and breathe heavy. If you have any such problems then
avoid this place. Otherwise, if you are visiting Cappadocia it should be in
your itinerary.
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| Love Valley |
Our tour bus then took us to love valley.
The entire region is sculpted naturally to a resemblance of
manhood. AS you may see it in the picture. There is nothing more to explain to
this. Seeing is experiencing it.
Next we drove to see the camel rock, again a nature made sculpture
which looks like a camel sitting down.
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| Camel Rock |
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| Making of a Ceramic plate |
We missed out on the cave hotel as it did not fit into our budget. So…something should always attract you to visit again isn’t it??? I will come again.
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| By the Red River |
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| Chilling By Red River |
We took a walk beside the river side, which is beautifully decorated. you will find various cafes where you may sit down and enjoy the pleasant nature and simple beauty of the river.
