Continued from Days 1,2,3,4,5,6
Day 7
This was the most highly anticipated day and event in the tour. All the conversations we’ve had about Turkey had this – the balloon ride – as the reference point. We had to wake up at 4 AM though. I heard later that this was also possible during the evening, but it was risky and very few operators dealt with it. Also, nothing like seeing the sunrise. We were picked up in fifteen minutes and taken, shivering, to the meeting point from where we’d get airborne. Before we got on, we had coffee and cake, and watched the balloons being filled up. All of the flame throwing made me think of GoT and dragons. 25 people are allowed per balloon, and once we were in the air, we could see a hundred balloons around! Different colours and at different heights, it was a spectacular sight!
The ride lasted for an hour and after we alighted, we got champagne, and a certificate! And of course, the standard photo that you have to pay for. We were back in the hotel by 7.30 and after breakfast on the hotel terrace (better food, much more flavourful) we started on our tour by 9.30. We realised pretty early in the tour that it was not going as per the itinerary that had been given to us. The van air conditioning wasn’t working, I was the only one happy about it, thanks to the sinus-friendliness it offered. Alec was our elderly guide, and his ‘you know’ reminded me a lot of my friend S.
Our first stop was a typical Cappadocian Church – the Derekli Church, cut out of rock. The frescoes were pretty faded here, but the inner rooms and the way all of this had been carved out of rock was quite fascinating. On the way, we also got a view of the extinct volcano Mt.Erciyes. We then proceeded to the Ihlara valley and explored more cave dwellings. An Indian family who was in the van with us gave us shopping tips for Cappadocia. After visiting the St.George Church, where the frescoes were preserved much better, we went for lunch at the Belisirma restaurant. I had meatballs and D chose a chicken casserole washed down with Ayran.
The first stop after lunch was the Selime Monastery complex which had multiple buildings all of which were fun to explore. Full of mazes, you’d enter at one place and would be amazed at where you’d get out at. The view from the top was superb too! Next up was Derinkuyu, an underground ‘city’, though Alec underplayed it and said it was just a settlement. This was an absolutely cool experience, literally and otherwise. We went down at least about 5 floors and a lot of the time was spent crouching. These were basically shelters and the caves had a lot of traps meant for attackers. The last stop for the day was Pigeon Valley, named after the tons of pigeon holes carved into the rock. The place reminded me of Star Wars! 🙂
Since a visit to Turkey is incomplete without a Hamam visit, we had asked our tour operator to book one for us. A unique experience which involves getting completely naked. Once you get over that, the sauna, massage, and Jacuzzi should make you feel quite refreshed. The massage was pretty much Swedish in terms of how vigorous it was. I met a guy named Manuel from Austria who was on holiday. We discussed the hamam, (he didn’t like it) travel and whether the hamam experience would be better if one were with friends. Conversations would be great but nudity awkwardness worked against it. 😀
We got out in an hour and a half and were dropped at the hotel. The plan for the next few hours was a Turkish Night, recommended by the tour operator. We had a couple of Americans for company and went to a cave restaurant near Uchisar. The streets were empty, and the surroundings were pretty desolate. We realised later that the latter might be because of the noise levels. Unlimited food (3 course) and drinks was the promise. The food was meh but we polished off a couple of wine bottles. A dervish dance began the proceedings and I wondered how trance-on-demand could happen! With liquour all around, the song being played had Allah mentioned every 5 seconds. Very interesting indeed. Many traditional dances followed, (same set of dancers) including a belly dance. The overall experience was made unintentionally funny because many of the guests, reasonably drunk, got into the act. The American guys were polite guys and laughed at most of my lines. Just after midnight, we got back to the hotel room and slept soundly.
