!!!Cappadocia

by Stanislav Sedov and Dmitry Moiseenko,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

7 February 2014

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

Caves and whimsical rocks of Cappadocia are not the only tourist
attraction of the region. Travelers are also attracted by the
opportunity to admire local landscape from a basket of a hot air
balloon. There are a large number of companies who organize hot air
balloon rides in the valley, and so prices are rather competitive. Dima
and I couldn't miss such an opportunity and so we booked our flight
right away.

Usually hot air balloons launch before the sunrise. We spent our first
morning shooting with our RC helicopter, and not from a hot air balloon.
We watched hundreds of them ascending simultaneously from different
corners of the valley. What a spectacular sight! Even when viewed from
the ground, not from air... Well, you will see it for yourself when you
take a look at our today's virtual tour.

[{Image src='01_Balloon above Cappadocia.jpg' caption='Balloon above Cappadocia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='665'}]

Second hot air balloon launch usually happens at dusk, if the weather
allows. That day the weather was acceptable. On our way back to the
hotel we noticed a group of people preparing several hot air balloons
for take-off. Our flight was scheduled for next morning, but the desire
to go up in the air took over. There was a room for us in one of the
baskets, so after a short negotiation with a manager we joined the group
in their pre-flight instructions.

For me, it was the second hot air balloon fight in my life. My first one
was in Myanmar, when we shot Bagan Valley, and I remembered it as a
pleasant and fun adventure. The second flight could have been my last...

[{Image src='02_ Cappadocia.jpg' caption='Cappadocia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

Troubles started during the launch. The wind got stronger during
take-off. Instead of a slow ascend, our basket flew for a few meters and
hit the ground really hard. Our pilot immediately turned on all the
burners and the balloon, finally, took off. However there was a new
problem: the wind carried us right towards a nearby tree. Tourists in
the center of the basket screamed out of fear. We couldn't avoid the
collision, but luckily tree branches hit walls of the basket not
damaging the surface of our hot air balloon.

There were no other surprises during ascend. However, we noticed very
soon that all key landmarks of the beautiful valley were far away from
our rout. I asked our pilot, what was the matter. He said that
apparently we were taken by a strong airflow and that he couldn't get us
out of it. In about half an hour the pilot told passengers to get ready
for landing, warning us that it'd be a hard one. Landing instructions
required that a passenger should get down to the basket floor, and
secure himself really well by holding a rope and pushing his feet to the
inner wall of the basket.

[{Image src='03_Balloon above Cappadocia.jpg' caption='Balloon above Cappadocia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

We hit the ground really hard. Then we hit it again. Then our basket got
turned over and dragged into a field. That was very unpleasant. Finally
our pilot managed to lower the balloon and the dragging stopped. We
started climbing out of the basket slowly recovering from shock.

Majority of passengers were elderly Japanese tourists. It might have
been poor translation of pre-flight instructions or perhaps they simply
ignored our captain, but as a result one of the ladies ended up with
multiple broken bones: she was thrown out of the basket during landing
because she didn't secure herself well enough.

The lady was taken to a hospital; and the following day almost half of
the hot air balloon operators cancelled their flights due to the strong
wind. However, our booking was confirmed the night before our flight,
and we decided to take our chance again.

[{Image src='04_Love Valley, Cappadocia.jpg' caption='Love Valley, Cappadocia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

Early next morning we stood at a small launch field few kilometers away
from our hotel. Ground crew members were running back and forth
preparing balloons for takeoff. Our group met the captain, a big
middle-age man. When main pre-flight instructions were over, Dima and I
approached our captain asking permission to shoot panoramas form the
basket during our flight. At first our captain didn't look too
enthusiastic about our idea, but then suddenly he asked:

"Didn't you fly an RC helicopter over Bagan temples in Myanmar a couple
of months ago?"

"Yes, we did"

"Ah, crazy Russians! I saw you there! I will let you shoot from the
basket"

What a coincidence! There were only 6 hot air balloon pilots in Myanmar,
and there are over hundred pilots in Cappadocia. We were lucky to run
into the one who saw us at work at the opposite side of the world!

Our second flight was much more interesting than the first one. Dima and
I shot a short video about our tour above the valley.

However the landing was hard again due to the strong wind. Our captain
warned passengers to be prepared for a strong impact. Everyone held
really tight so there were no casualties. Following an old aeronaut
tradition we all had a glass of Champaign at the landing site.

And now let me share few interesting facts about Cappadocia.

One of historical regions of Turkey is called "Cappadocia" which means
"the land of beautiful horses". This is where ancient Persians bred
horses for the cavalry of the Persian king Darius I.

[{Image src='05_Love Valley, Cappadocia.jpg' caption='Balloon above Cappadocia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='590'}]

Cappadocia lies on Anatolia plateau about 1000 meter above the sea
level, in the center of the country. This region is famous for a number
of truly unique landmarks of Turkey. There are fantastic volcanic
landscapes, ancient underground cities, and rock monasteries. Göreme
National Park and caves of Cappadocia rightfully became a part of UNESCO
World Heritage.

Cappadocia are known from ancient times. During I century AD, Christians
had to flee from persecution, and Cappadocia proofed to be the best
"hiding" place: first Christian communities carved their settlements,
churches, and entire cities in the soft sandstone of local mountains.

[{Image src='06_xxx.jpg' caption='xxx' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='635'}]

In 1963 archeologists found one of the rock cities, Derinkuyu. Total
length of its residential quarters, storage rooms, underground
galleries, and tunnels exceeded 30 kilometers. The entire space was
seven stores (85 meters) deep and could accommodate up to 20 thousand
people... At nightfall Cappadocian Christians retreated to their carved
settlements and lit torches. Looking at the rocks mysteriously glowing
from the inside, local people called this area "the land of fairies"
thinking of magical creatures and not Christians who lived in the
mountains.

Several original settlements survived till modern days. Moreover, there
are over five hundred churches, where Apostles Peter and Paul preached,
according to the legend. Today the part of Cappadocia stretched between
cities of Nevsehir, Ürgüp, and Avanos is a territory of national park
and open-air museum called "Göreme".

[{Image src='07_Love Valley, Cappadocia.jpg' caption='Balloon above Cappadocia' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

Besides hidden under ground landmarks, Cappadocia is famous for its
beautiful areas located on the surface. The landscape formation took
over 60 million years. Continuous efforts of opposing natural forces led
to volcanic eruptions that covered the land with tuffs and other
geological phenomena before the period of erosion started.

Then continental climate with sudden and drastic temperature
fluctuations came into the picture racking rocks and weathering out
everything that Mother Nature considered «unnecessary». Water finished
the job; and as a result we have got famous stone pillars resembling
mushrooms, cones, and pyramids of most whimsical shapes.

[{Image src='08_Cappadocia, Turkey.jpg' caption='Cappadocia, Turkey' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='615'}]

It is said that the extraterrestrial look of Cappadocia landscape
inspired George Lucas to create the desert planet Tatooine for the «Star
Wars Episode IV: A New Hope» epic movie. Although they didn't shoot the
film here, Cappadocia is still a truly amazing place. Cappadocia is
often referred to as «the Lost World» and «the Land of Lunar
Landscapes». During peak season dozens of hot air balloons raise above
Cappadocia to let visitors enjoy the view of the Turkish landmark from
the air.

Our virtual tour consisting of spherical aerial panoramas will give you
the same (or even better) opportunity. Welcome aboard!

\\ \\
[17 Panoramas of Cappadocia|Geography/Asia/Turkey/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Cappadocia]

[{SET customtitle='Cappadocia (AP)'}]