Cappadocia, Turkey // balloon-filled sunrise skies

this morning when I sat down to blog, I opened up Lightroom and asked myself: where do you want to go today? it's been a rough week. and so the answer was somewhere magical and far away.

cue: sunrise in Cappadocia. specifically, a sunrise spent watching hot air balloons sail through the sky.

a word about photo integrity: if you've been on Pinterest for 5 minutes, you've probably seen photos of hot air balloons over Cappadocia. a lot of them involve blondes with perfect hair sitting on Turkish rugs sipping coffee, while the sky is brimming with colorful orbs. and a lot of them are photoshopped.

while I sometimes use photo editing programs to bring out colors, crop people out of the frame, fix weird shadows or remove blemishes... I always try to give an accurate representation of the place I am photographing. just like I try to give an honest telling of my experiences. [because misleading blog posts are a huge pet peeve of mine.] SO I promise you that all the photos you see here will not have any additional balloons, only what was actually in the skies. end of rant. back to the balloons.

riding in a hot air balloon in Turkey was one of the most magical experiences, ever. so much that my friend and I decided once was not enough. but rather than pay the fee to fly again, we woke up before sunrise to view the balloons from a bluff we spotted during our ride.

the night before, we hiked out to assess the situation. we got there early enough to watch the balloons fire up and take off, and stayed until they landed again. in between we took a lot of photos [ok, no rug but at least I brushed my hair] and even did some yoga on a giant rock.

after the first 15 or 20 minutes, we realized that the wind was not blowing in our direction. the day we flew, our balloon had passed directly over the bluff we were standing on. but on this day they almost went straight up and down... which is why all my photos are pretty much the same angle. at one point I just put my camera down because I was taking the same shot over and over. [though apparently it was so early I forgot I had my zoom lens and only took that one close shot? oops.]

even though the balloons didn't make it very close to us, we still had a beautiful sunrise. I think if I lived in Göreme I could become a morning person - if it meant starting every day with a thermos of coffee and a sunrise hike.

is this view worth waking up at 4am for? it was for me.

eventually, what goes up must come down. the magic ends and it's time for another cup [or three] of coffee before heading out to explore some cave villages and crazy rock formations. as one does in Cappadocia.

[ps: don't worry, I'll share photos from the actual balloon ride. it was just easier to sort through these first than the 500+ I took from the air.]

linking up with Lauren on Location, Snow in Tromso, The Sunny Side of This and What a Wonderful World for #wanderfulwednesday

sunset over Göreme, Cappadocia

Cappadocia is one of Turkey's treasures, and our time there was magical from start to finish. we based our adventures in the village of Göreme. we arrived in the late afternoon, and the dry desert heat was almost refreshing compared to the week's worth of humidity in Istanbul we had just experienced.

staying on the hillside at the west edge of town, our hotel [Turquaz Cave Hotel above] offered a terrace with stunning views over the surrounding valley. we walked down for dinner and made our way back just as the sun was starting to set. my companions went back to the hotel to rest - since we were waking up at 3am the next morning for a balloon ride.

me? once I saw those golden rays angling over the valley and bouncing off the fairy chimneys and towers of the cave hotels, I grabbed my camera and was gone.

the architecture of Göreme is an interesting mix of ancient and modern, ruins and new construction. the cone-shaped rock formations spotting the landscape are naturally formed. somewhere between the Hittites and the Byzantines [1800 to 1200 BC] dwellings were carved into these chimneys and the surrounding cliffs. early Christians also fled to this area in the 4th century, and carved numerous monasteries and churches nearby.

this fantastical scenery and rich history began to draw a large number of tourists. in 1985 Göreme National Park was designated as a World Heritage Site. what followed was the development of restaurants and hotels in the town. while many of these tout themselves as "cave hotels" - most are outfitted with modern conveniences and have expanded architecturally to add outdoor space and common dining facilities.

I spent my time wandering the back alleys and the edges of the town, much of which was abandoned cave dwellings or partially constructed buildings. I think that most tourists stay closer to the center of town, or across on the other side near the scenic outlook plateau [look for the Turkish flag above.] I definitely took advantage of having the streets practically to myself.

one thing I will mention here, and likely again as I write more about this trip, is that events in Turkey over the past 5 years [and this year especially] have caused a drastic decline in tourism. while Cappadocia is one of the country's major attractions, the town was only at 1/3 to 1/2 capacity. the locals were still there - riding their motorbikes up narrow cobblestone lanes or blocking traffic by driving herds of sheep - but at times it felt a little like a ghost town.

while I truly hope that tourism bounces back, I have to admit I enjoyed the solitude. our entire stay in Göreme felt very peaceful. [in great part due to fantastic Turkish hospitality.] after a bustling week in Istanbul - a romantic solo sunset walk was just what I needed.

much more from Göreme and Cappadocia to come...

linking up for Wanderful Wednesday with: Lauren on Location, Snow in Tromso, What a Wonderful World, and The Sunny Side of This.