Balloon:( and epic hike

Today was supposed to be our balloon day and is largely the reason to visit this area. We were collected at 350 and drove to the Royal Balloon center for breakfast and sent to our launch site. The federal aviation association makes the final call about whether we take off or not, and despite perfect ground conditions, it was a no go. We were bummed and went back to the hotel and slept for a bit before second breakfast. After we ate we walked to the center of town to meet Mehmet, the guide we had hired for a 7 hour hike for the day. Kids were worried that it would be too long, but it ended up being perfect. Mehmet took us on an amazing, if not quite difficult hike with lots of climbing and exploring. The unusual landscape is made up of volcanic rock shaped by wind and water long ago. The cave houses have changed purposes over the years with most starting as monasteries with incredible chapels and rooms that were hand carved by the monks themselves in the 6th century. The last monks left the cave houses in 1925. The White Church was so beautiful and intricate inside, and one of the small chapels had incredible frescoes from the 11th century. The final building we saw was an 8 story nunnery with special rooms to feed animals and their troughs were even at different heights based on the individual animals. Incredible!Uses changed over time, and also included pigeon houses. The farmers depended on the droppings for fertilizer for crops. He was a fun guide and really engaged the kids and gave many of his own opinions on the world:) we trekked back into town right at 5 pm exhausted, dusty and a little bit sunburned. We rested for an hour and headed out for dinner. We sat out on a terrace and watched the sun set over Göreme. Chilly afterward but worth it. It was a day well spent and like most places like this, the pictures do not do it justice.Leggi altro