Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet101@gmail.com

02 August 2025

3-minute read

Travel writer Kate Turkington calls Turkey “just the most amazing country,” relatively affordable for South Africans, with a “superb” public transport system, and on another level of cleanliness despite Istanbul being one of the most populous countries in the world.

For an unforgettable ballooning experience, visitors fly to a little town called Cappadocia, getting there the day before embarking on the balloon ride. There’s lot of touring to do around the town, and with Turkey producing almost 80% of the world’s textiles, visitors can spend the day at the markets where they’re sure to find many affordable handmade crafts.

The process of going up in a hot air ballon, from the moment you arrive before sunrise, is truly magical. Kate says that she climbed into the balloon, they started the fire, and the balloon took off alongside almost a hundred other balloons – as simple as that!  She described the feeling of ascending in the basket as “perfectly quiet” with no real sensation of motion, drifting 1500m’s above the earth over valleys with holes and caves where people have lived centuries ago. Hoodoos, more commonly known as “fairy chimneys,” are the tall, cone-shaped rock formations that one can see from the balloon. They are “towering, towering blocks of stone fashioned in the most amazing shades,” says Kate, and flying over them feels kind of surreal, a feeling like being on the moon.  It really is an impressive moment, especially with dawn rising over the landscape. Hot air ballooning can also be done in the afternoon, but Kate suggests going in the early morning as the winds can come up in the afternoon, thereby cancelling balloon rides.

Many people might experience a feeling of trepidation at the thought of going up in a hot air balloon for the first time, but Kate says that she felt “totally safe” with their pilot who had 20 years of experience. “You’re safer in a balloon than you are on the South African roads,” she joked.

Boasting Roman, Greek, French, Ottoman and British influence, Turkey is “one civilisation built on the ashes of another.” Ducking her head and going through narrow passages, Kate visited an underground village, 85m below the ground where people lived hundreds of years ago. There was only one entrance, and the people in the cave would roll a millstone to the entrance when faced with foreign armies so that nobody could get in. They had supplies of water and food, and up to 20 000 people would live in one of these underground cities. “It just shows you the resilience of humans,” she says.

Kate is happy to advise travellers with practical tips on booking a balloon flight in Turkey, and she can be emailed on: kateturkington.com

Listen to the full interview with Ml Muhammad Kara, Ml Ibrahim Daya and Kate Turkington.