22 April 2025 Ballooning Over Cappadocia and Carpet Weaving Coop

 

Today we woke up early to do a bucket list item that we have talked about doing for several years – a hot air balloon ride.  We did not do one in Egypt, so today we took flight over Cappadocia in the early light of dawn.  What an amazing ride!  The hardest part was getting in and out of the basket.  The basket held 32 people plus the crew and was divided into 8 little square sections that each held 4 passengers.  The walls to the basket were fairly high and they did not have a step stool to help you climb up.  The crew did help lift you up and get your leg over the top of the basket, but, as you can guess, my entrance was not very graceful – but neither were the rest of the passengers.  We then started our lift off which was remarkably smooth and quiet, except when the pilot had to turn on the gas burners for several seconds to keep the air within the balloon warm so we would rise.  You just felt like you were gently floating above the earth.

As we soared over the remarkable landscape of Cappadocia, we saw the fairy chimneys and amber terrain from a different viewpoint and it was spectacular.  You also saw about 100 other balloons floating around you – some higher some lower.  You could hardly tell you were moving – it was so smooth.  But it was worth every penny – it was an amazing morning as we soured above the land and watched the sunrise over Cappadocia.  It is something that should be on everyone’s bucket list.   And once again I displayed my ungraceful ability to climb out of the basket.  It took several crewmen to keep me from falling to the ground!

Early Morning Balloon Trip

Getting our Balloon Read for Take-off

In the Basket and Ready for Take-off

Up, Up and Away!

Enjoying the Landscape

View of Cave Homes from the Sky

Beautiful Cappadocia Landscape

Traffic Jam of Balloons

People Live in this Cave House

Enjoying Our Hot Air Balloon Ride

Cappadocia Landscapte

Soaring Over the Local Town

Balloons Over Cappadocia

So many Balloons

Sunrise Over Cappadocia

Coming In for a Landing

Hardest Part of Ride - the Dismount!

Ready for Our Champagne Toast

After the ride, we returned to the hotel for breakfast and then headed out for a drive to enjoy the beautiful views of the valleys and landscapes of Cappadocia from the ground level.  On the way to visit a cave church, we stopped at a little roadside stand to view the Evil Eye Tree.  People tie a Turkish Evil Eye on the branches to bring them good luck.  We had wonderful views of a town that had been built/carved into a hill.  We then arrived Cave Man's House, a small home carved into a tufa rock where Cave Man still lives.  He was there to greet us and show us his home.  His house has three levels, each with small rooms.  The bottom level contains a fully functional kitchen.  However, the bathroom is in a small building by the side of the house.

The Evil Eye Tree

Looking out at a Town Built/Carved
into a Hill Side

Cave Homes

Cave Man and his Home

His Living Room

A Modern Kitchen

His Bedroom

After our visit we traveled to a nearby town for a traditional Cappadocian meal -- Testi Kebab (pottery kebab).  This is a meat dish, similar to our stews, that is cooked in a sealed clay jar.  When it is down, the waiter brings the jar to the table, where with one stroke of a knife on the neck of the jar, it is opened.  The waiter then serves the stew with delicious Pide, a Turkish flatbread.  I tried my hand at breaking the jar, but it took me 2 tries and the break was not as even as the waiter's.  But that did not affect the taste of the stew -- it was  delicious.

A Fairy Chimney Rock Formation

Landscape View from the Bus

Testi Kebadi

Getting ready to cut off the top of the 
jar by hitting the circle just below
the neck of the jaw with a knife

The Stew inside the Jar

Turkish Flatbread Pide

After lunch, we visited a rug-weaving cooperative.  Here the local weavers explained all aspects of this traditional Turkish craft.  As we watched them weave their magic, they told us how they cultivate the silkworm, spin and dye the silk, and use the traditional patterns and weaving techniques.  These rugs are known for their tight little double knots that the weavers make.  I even tried my hand at it and amazingly, I was able to make the double knot.  You take 2 of the perpendicular strands on the large loom and then a piece of silk string that you will use to make the knots.  You put the silk strand through the middle of the 2 strands and then under the strand on your right.  Then you bring the silk strand up and over the 2 strands, then under the left strand and up and out again in the middle of the 2 strands.  Then you bring the strand that you used to make the knots down to the bottom of the loom, pull it tight and then cut the excess strand off.  Now if I had the patience to spend 3 years making one rug (not to mention trying to read the pattern that you are given) I could probably get a job at a Turkish rug coop.

A Rug Weaver at Work

Diagram for Making the Knots

Design Patterns for the Rugs

Her Finished Work So Far

Our next stop was an addition to our itinerary.  Overseas Adventure Travel and Grand Circle Travel have a Foundation that provides grants to organizations or new co-op start-ups that are designed to help women in third world nations succeed.  This Foundation just granted a women's co-op in a town  we are now touring and the women who work there asked if an OAT tour could stop by so they could offer their personal thank-you to OAT for their donation of a much needed refrigerator.  As we were the closest tour group, Ahmet took us to visit their co-op  and learn what they are doing to help women in this community.   There were five women working that day and they all explained what they make to sell in their town to help provide for their families.  Several of them made sewn items like napkins and aprons, one made crocheted hats, while another made little candles.  We all had a good time talking with them and even buying some of their products.  They gave each of us a candle in a small dish and I bought a beautiful white ceramic-type angel.  It is nice to know that some of the money we pay OAT for our trips is returned back to many of the countries that we visit.

Our Visit to the Women's Co-op

Returning to our hotel, we had a little time to relax before joining our group for dinner.  It was probably one of the best days we have had on a tour.