Capadoyka, Turkey

Posted on November 3, 2023  •  17 minutes  • 3495 words

Easy, uneventful drive for 2.5hrs of the 3hrs. Once we made our last main turn, the landscape changed to something I can’t even explain. There were rock ‘chimneys’ that looked like giant gnome hats, a distant mesa that had some Grand Canyon feeling, more weird shaped rocks and layer after layer rock that had eroded away.

We pulled into Gorome, where we’d be staying for 3 nights and we were all kinda giddy school children. We stayed at Amber Cave Suites and I don’t think we could have picked a better place. We literally were going to be sleeping in a carved-out portion of the rock, where we could still see the scrapes on the wall from the hand excavation. The stairs on the left of the picture below, go down to our room.

The whole place was done so well. How someone could look at the side of a rock face and carve out rooms, stairs, then terrace a courtyard with lots of foliage is beyond me. I thought I had decent spacial recognition, but no way.

Ben did a lap of the rooms and ran to me screaming ‘Thank you!’ Right outside our room, was a small courtyard area with a perfect view of the town below and landscapes beyond.

Having had a minimal lunch, we headed to check out the town and to a restaurant that Dan picked out. Cobblestone narrow streets and not many people. It was a WARM welcome after the craziness of Istanbul the weekend before. So many directions to check out, but we knew we had hungry kids and wanted an early night. Dan hit a home run with his restaurant pick, Inci Cafe Restaurant. We ate amazing food in the back of a cave.

You could see the scrap marks on the wall when it was carved out and discussion started on hand tool or machine. Consensus was hand as there was no pattern to the marks, so at least the final touches were by hand. Everything we ordered was great, including the large meze plate…when you can’t decide, just order them all.

On the walk home, I talked to Ben and Sam about waking up early to see the sunrise with me. They both wanted to and not sure what I would have done if one was adamant about not going. Knowing them, really this was never a concern. But before bed time, with 3 chapters left in the 7th book of Harry Potter, they begged Dan to read just a little.

I had them sleep in their thermals and planned to quietly sneak them out into the hall as to not wake up and upset Max for being left out. Best laid plans, right? Max threw a wrench in that plan when he woke up at 4:30am for some odd reason. So when I got out of bed at 5am and then the kids at 5:15am, he was very aware that Mom and his brothers were going without him and we sadly left with cries in the background. Sorry buddy.

All bundled up, we walked out to the driveway just as the shuttle bus was pulling up. Hopped in with 2 other families to head to Voyager Balloon’s office. They fed us breakfast, pretty minimal and not good at all, as the kids and I talked about seeing the sunrise…still oblivious to the fact we would be getting in a balloon soon! There were pictures of hot air balloons everywhere! I seemed to have an answer for everything. We were all then told to get in our correct number shuttle bus. We loaded in with 2 couples and I was able to deter the questions they got about going in a hot air balloon. ‘Yes we are really excited to see the sunrise too!’ (with a wink). We pulled into a giant field with 50 or so balloons being inflated or just taking off. ‘Weird, looks like we have to drive through all this to get to the sunrise view point.’ When we got out in the middle of so many balloons, Ben looked at me, ‘are we going in one?’ I smiled and he gave the biggest silent squeal ever and jumped up and down as he relayed the info to Sam. It was so cool to see the complete surprise and glee on their faces.

We waited and watched as about 6 men tried to wrangle the 80% inflated balloon. Then all of a sudden ‘COME! GET IN!’ We all raced over, threw ourselves over the basket edge. We were taught landing position (squat down and straight arms holding ) having no view or idea what was happening. I believe it was all in control, but when it’s in another language and they have to yell to hear each other over the flame, I was a bit unsure.

Being able to see out the foothold in the basket, I could tell we were still on the ground for maybe another minute, then all of a sudden we every so gently lifted into the air and were told we could stand. Once we left ground, it was the smoothest ride.

Looking out with the kids, hugging them from behind and seeing pure joy in their faces (mine too), it was all too perfect. Light was starting to light up the sky, balloons around us lighting up like lightening bugs when the flame would go on.

Complete silence in between our flame on, which was a lot less than I had expected. We floated up, we floated down. We watched the sky change colors and then the sun to peak over the mountains. We floated over landscapes like we had never seen before pointing and pointing.

We messaged Dan so he could try to find out balloon. Jury still out if they could tell which one was actually ours. “The big one on the left Dan! Why can’t you see us?” :) Maybe we are in this photo, maybe not.

Kids never got bored for the hour trip and I couldn’t stop taking pictures as the sky and landscapes kept changing.

Our guide was hoping for 1.25hrs, but the winds were higher than they wanted and we had to end before we got over a certain range. We started to see the truck following us from below as we slowly descended. Our pilot told us to brace for a bumpy landing. We were ready…whatever that means. Assuming landing position and we touched down. No thud, a little dragging (maybe 10ft) and that was it! He lifted us up a bit to get up on the flat bed, then we all jumped around to settle us into place. Disembarked, celebrated with certificates and champagne/sparkling juice and shuttled back to the hotel just in time for a real kahvalti with Dan and Max.

I was really worried about Max feeling left out (he was too young) but apart from the little crying when we left, Dan said he didn’t even care and he loved looking for us up in the sky.

The kids oozed with joy as they told Dan and Max all about it over breakfast at our hotel that was included. Turkey takes their breakfasts serious here and this was no exception. Just to start..

And we had a great view.

Hot air balloon ride, breakfast and it was only 9:30am. We had read about Derinkuyu, a massive underground city that is believed to once house 20,000 people and stock. We decided to check that out first. About a 40 minute drive and we were there. Parked, bought entrance tickets and headed in. I don’t know that exact numbers, but about 10-20% is open to the public. It was massive! There was kinda a route to follow with arrows, but also so many side passages or rooms you could explore. Some passages were so small, Max was the only one that could walk normally.

It was so cool! Kids obviously loved the exploring aspect and Dan and I just couldn’t get over that this existed as a fully functioning city. They went in EVERY single room or tunnel that was accessible and loved it all!

At times it was hard to keep up as Dan and I were walking half hunched over, half in the squat position. Kids just zipped right along with us kindly asking/yelling for them to slow down.

And we went deep down. One passage was 121 steps down and so narrow you tried to go fast enough so you didn’t have to pass too many people coming up. A few times you’d plaster yourself against the side of the tunnel, only to get pushed more as someone passed. Airplane aisle would seem glorious compared to this!

So while the tunnels got VERY narrow, you’d then pop into a giant room! Very cavernous actually. I don’t know where we were, but livestock was even kept underground.

We found a room that had, what looked like a table and benches, carved out of the floor and a ledge at the end. Ben thought the council met here.

The ventilation was crazy, as in some parts you could feel the wind blow through, even though you were down 30meters. So fascinating and something they clearly new was important to live down there

You could stand up straight in the rooms, but Dan and I were feeling a bit claustrophobic. We had explored every corner we thought we could and we told the kids it was time to climb the final passage out. They were devastated! I’m pretty sure they would have stayed down for hours, but at the 1hr mark I had hit my limit…and not great for my back.

We climbed out, got some fresh squeezed pomegranate and orange juices as we browsed some pottery.

On the walk to the car, grabbed some Turkish Pancakes to hold us over in the car. On the drive back, we were still filled with energy and stopped at Uchisar Castle. Not your typical castle with a moat, large thick exterior walls. Basically a castle carved out of a giant rock formation on the hill in the middle of a town.

We walked, through and around the castle to get to the top. Kids were constantly heading in a different direction to climb over, climb through, jump over, etc. very chunk of rock possible.

So many times Dan or I would look up and there’d be a kid up there, or look down and see another. Endless exploring and very happy (yet no meltdown due to lack of sleep) yet.

My three little kitties Max said.

There were gates, grates or fences in some areas, but not all.

Amazing views at the top!

And so many carved out holes/depressions for the kids to climb into and then ask for their photo to be taken.

And Ben’s idea for a picture and one he is still talking about. Didn’t nail the angle, but you get the idea.

We slowly made our way down and decided to sit and get some food. I wanted a view, even though I knew the places right there were tourist traps. We sat down at a table with great views and ordered 2 lemonades for the kids and said we needed a minute for our food order.

The food didn’t sound great and with the waitress never coming back (someone else brought the lemonades) in 20 minutes, we decided not to actually eat there. But we did have enough time to read the FINAL chapter in Harry Potter! 7 books!

Dan made it through the part he choked up on last time, but at the final 1.5 pages, as Harry is talking to his son, Albus, he just couldn’t make it through. :) With teary eyes, he handed the phone over to me. To be honest, I was a bit emotional at the end this time. Mixed feelings all around with the series being over and we launched into discussion about what series we should read as a family next.

Back at our place with a few minutes to regroup, then right back out for food for the hungry children. Dan found yet another amazing place! Kids ordered the food cooked in pottery, basically because they love watching it get opened.

And sometimes when you have an amazing day, ice cream just feels like a good way to end it. So ice cream it was.

Early night, but not early enough.

Dan, having missed sunrise the morning before, woke up and he and Ben headed up to the view point on the ridge above our hotel. He and Ben were flying out the door and the rest of us were about 10 minutes behind. Easy enough walk up and the views were spectacular.

It really is impossible to get over how crazy all the landscape is here and how so much of the town is intermingled with it.

The sun hadn’t peeked over the horizon yet and it was really special to be up there as it did. No balloons flying due to the wind, but we couldn’t notice. I asked our pilot the day before and he had said they don’t fly if winds are 10km/hr or greater. They fly about 250-280 days a year. He had also told us they didn’t fly the 2 days before we did, so we were feeling kind of lucky.

We took in the sunrise some more, pointed out valleys that we wanted to explore and then made our way down at about 8am for breakfast.

Turns out breakfast was at 8:30 (clearly not catering to a family with 6am wake up kids), so some hanging out in the courtyard.

Another amazing kahvalti at our hotel, but this time it was a buffet style which have even more options for yummy spreads, dips, fruit, jams, etc.

After breakfast we headed to the open space museum of Gorome. Kids were a bit slow, but it just felt like there was so much to see in the area, we powered through.

We walked in and a guy asked if we wanted a guide. It seemed like a good idea as we knew nothing about the area. About an hour long and he explained about a lot of the history, the churches built there, how they collected pigeon poop for farming. We went in about 5 churches (there were more!) and some of the frescos were still really visible (no photos allowed in all but one). Our guide explained before 800AD, they were not allowed to paint idols, only geometric designs. Inside, you could really see the patterns under the biblical scenes.

Lots of people, but I guess that happens when it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site. A bit crazy the concentration of churches in one small area.

There weren’t many placards about the area, but really nice to have kids that can read when we do find one!

We got some more fresh squeeze juices, climbed a few rocks and headed back to town for lunch.

We went to a place on the main drag and kids loved that we got to sit on cushions on the ground to eat and without shoes…in a restaurant!

Amazing food as usual. Some baked tomatoes with cream AND cheese, falafel salad and Sam fell in love with Sigara Boregi….rough translation cigarette looking rolled fried cheese.

Max was acting out and I was tired, so we dropped the other 3 off at a trail head and headed back for a nap. Max, who claimed he was NOT tired, passed out for about 3 hours. When he finally woke up, the first thing he said was ‘I couldn’t fall asleep’. Haha It was good timing, Dan and the kids were celebrating their hike with ice cream. A few photos from a massive amount of cool stuff they saw.

Spoiler alert…the wild fruit they found was NOT good.

Max and I walked to meet them in town…getting more juice on the way. Not feeling like more pottery dishes, Dan found a manti place. Really, his ability to find restaurants that are so amazing EVERY time! Yes, he has help from The Google, but I’m still giving him credit here.

We had a table at the edge of the upper patio, overlooking the town as the sun slowly set behind us.

The kids beamed and bounced as they described their hike. It really sounded amazing and I was feeling a bit bummed I missed out. They hiked through tunnels and valleys, climbed in old churches, climbed up any rock face Dan let them and found a small juice stand in the middle of the hike…no cars around.

Dinner was delicious, but we ordered too much as Sam and Max were just out of it. We got some meze (appetizers), more Sigara Boregi and manti.

Ben really wanted the grilled shrimp again and asked the waiter if they were spicy. He responded with no, but not spicy to him and not spicy to Ben were not on the same level. This is the second time this happened, but we fixed it this time with a big side of yogurt that Ben heavily dipped each shrimp in. Dan was done eating, Sam was struggling to be an awake human and Max was just being a butt, so the three of them headed home and Ben and I got some chill 1 on 1 time. We finished eating, wrapped ourselves in blankets the waiter brought us and ordered 2 rounds of chai. I could have sat there for a really long time, and we did for a bit, but even Ben was probably needing some sleep.

Easy pack up in the morning and the kids played outside in the courtyard making potions. Their obsession with potions is cute, until a bottle opens accidentally or you find them in your backpack. They begged us for extra showers so they could use up the body wash and have potion bottles. Ugh, small single use plastic containers!!! But using 4 wasn’t the end of the world…hopefully.

They were out there for an hour as Dan and I sipped our room made chai and powdered coffee and talked about the plan for the day. We didn’t want to get back too late, it was Monday and we had to get ready for the week, but I really wanted to get a hike in. I felt I missed out a lot on the exploring the day before and needed some of that before we left. Yummy breakfast yet again..view from the other direction of the buffet this time.

Car loaded and we went to Red Valley. The views started right from the beginning and never ended.

We scampered everywhere we could, we explored openings in rocks, we climbed and hoisted each other up to see into things and were spoiled with unrelenting views. If felt like the middle of no where and then there’s a tunnel with a room carved into the rock.

Then there’s a church…and don’t forget about views all the time!

Our attempt at a timer photo.

It really could have gone on forever, but alas, life pulls you back to reality. Kids don’t seem to grasp this concept yet…and hopefully they don’t for a long time.

After Dan picking up all 3 kids for a photo, his sunglass flew off his head. Good thing we can still hang out kids upside down and lower them off the edge of a cliff.

We were at the turnaround point and found a different route back…kids were thrilled and I gave it a C- in structural stability. We’ve had worse.

Ladder turned to chains, which actually felt much safer, but who knows. Clearly not the structural engineer in the family.

Easy path back, even though the kids were trying to grasp at every last chance of staying longer.

The kids were not happy when we said we had to leave, we only hiked for 1.5 hours or so, but after Ben coaxed Sam into the car with a promise of a Turkish delight. I didn’t want to leave either. It was too perfect.

The kids started off the drive writing about the trip, but we buckled about half way and let them watch The Zoo on HBO. Educational means it’s alright, right?

I can’t express how special the whole weekend was for us. Yes, the hot air balloon ride was a surprise and so fun, but everything we did was special in it’s own way. The hiking, the underground city, the food, sleeping in a cave, the views…the list goes on and on and on…kinda like some of the tunnels in the underground city when Dan abruptly said ‘okay, I’m good! and turned around. :)

With our travels so far this year, and in life really, it’s hard to have your favorites, but right now our Capadokya weekend is feeling top 5.