Take me back to Turkey Part 9 - Caravanserai
I got my first glimpse of
Cappadoce at sunrise aboard an hot air baloon. It was spectacular! Taking off
was very smooth. The noise of the flame was not as loud as I expected. It was
not scary at all, it felt like floating. Being able to come down close to the
rock formations is a big advantage to any other means of transport. Watching
the colors change as the sun came up was spectacular!
Coming back down seemed a bit trickier as the ground crew had to drive over
to where we were headed and then catch our ropes and stabilize our basket so
it would not topple over when it touched down. But we made it back safe and
sound and were given a diploma along with a glass of champagne!
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Because of erosion of the soil that was partially volcanic strange shapes have appeared. This has allowed succeeding generations to dig and inhabit the stone in what are called troglodytes villages. There are complete underground cities as well as some of the first christian churches discretely hidden in the hillsides.
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Take me to Turkey Part 11 - Ankara