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Best Place to Watch the Sunrise and Hot Air Balloons in Göreme

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Soaring in a hot air balloon gets you up close and personal with Cappadocia's unique landscape of fairy chimneys.  The next best thing is to watch the spectacle from the ground. Having been cancelled for the past two days, the hot air balloon flights were still only a 50/50 chance to happen this morning. It was so touch-and-go, the civil aviation wouldn't make a decision until morning. I could tell when I left my hotel room at 4:45am (for the 5:48 sunrise), they were obviously a go … vans were racing all over Göreme picking up their lucky passengers. The wind (on the ground) was forecasted at 3 mph with gusts up to 6 mph. Statistically the balloons in Cappadocia do not launch 23% of the year, mostly during December through April, so the odds are in your favor if you visit between May and November.  To pad your odds, you'll want to have the flexibility to stay at least three or four nights and be willing to pay extra to get a spot from the black market.  (For every day
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Hiking Cappadocia’s Red and Rose Valley

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During the Roman period, persecuted Christians fled in droves to Cappadocia. They discovered that the soft tuff could easily be excavated and built homes and churches in the fairy chimneys. They expanded existing ancient caves into underground cities like Derinkuyu — a massive shelter that could hold around 20,000 residents. The thought of visiting Derinkuyu and going at least four stories deep down into the earth in a country known for its sizeable earthquakes was not appealing to me - though technically caves are generally safer places to be, depending on the characteristics of the cave. Turkey is one of the world's most active earthquake zones because it is located in an area where three tectonic plates interact. There are 485 faults known so far in the country that can cause earthquakes larger than 5.5-magnitude. Turkey's seismicity is increasing; last year's quake that killed 50,000 people occurred on the East Anatolian Fault, which is similar in origin and struc
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Hiking in Cappadocia - Love Valley

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Enjoying a peaceful morning on the hotel's terrace I'm letting the message at the 24-hour coffee shop set the tone for the day. Everything happens for a reason. I try to accept things I cannot change. I wasn't a bit surprised when I received the dreaded text about our hot air balloon ride: "Unfortunately tomorrow all balloons flight has canceled in Cappadocia by civil aviation because of the bad weather condition." Sigh. Without a doubt, riding a hot air balloon over this phenomenal landscape is the most epic thing you can do in Cappadocia. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and there are few better places in the world to do it than here. But we will never know because they have been cancelled for the two mornings we are here. Logistics: At $300 per person for the cheapest and shortest flight option, "Royal Balloons" is one of the most popular and reputable companies, and is already booked out through April, May and most of June. I
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Mystifying Cappadocia

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Cappadocia is undeniably one of the most beautiful regions in Turkey. Famous for its gorgeous landscapes, beautiful valleys, unique rock formations, and of course, the hot air balloons that paint the morning sky with color - it was the most-anticipated destination on our itinerary. Human settlement in Cappadocia dates back to the Paleolithic era. For centuries, people have utilized the region's soft volcanic rock to carve houses, cave churches, and even underground cities. At a much higher elevation, Cappadocia is colder than our other Turkey destinations... except right now. It was an unusually warm 90 degrees when we landed - a whopping 24 degrees hotter than average. After our two short flights (via Istanbul airport) to get here from Bodrum, we had a little time left in the day to explore. We started with the small, quieter village of Uchisar which has a "castle" offering one of the best viewpoints in Cappadocia. As the tallest point in Cappadocia,
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