![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Cappadocia.jpeg?resize=275%2C183&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nRabia Mayet | rabiamayet101@gmail.com<\/p>\n
02 August 2025<\/p>\n
3-minute read<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travel writer Kate Turkington calls Turkey \u201cjust the most amazing country,\u201d relatively affordable for South Africans, with a \u201csuperb\u201d public transport system, and on another level of cleanliness despite Istanbul being one of the most populous countries in the world.<\/p>\n
For an unforgettable ballooning experience, visitors fly to a little town called Cappadocia, getting there the day before embarking on the balloon ride. There\u2019s lot of touring to do around the town, and with Turkey producing almost 80% of the world\u2019s textiles, visitors can spend the day at the markets where they\u2019re sure to find many affordable handmade crafts.<\/p>\n
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!\u00a0 She described the feeling of ascending in the basket as \u201cperfectly quiet\u201d with no real sensation of motion, drifting 1500m\u2019s above the earth over valleys with holes and caves where people have lived centuries ago. Hoodoos, more commonly known as \u201cfairy chimneys,\u201d are the tall, cone-shaped rock formations that one can see from the balloon. They are \u201ctowering, towering blocks of stone fashioned in the most amazing shades,\u201d says Kate, and flying over them feels kind of surreal, a feeling like being on the moon. \u00a0It 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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201ctotally safe\u201d with their pilot who had 20 years of experience. \u201cYou\u2019re safer in a balloon than you are on the South African roads,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n
Boasting Roman, Greek, French, Ottoman and British influence, Turkey is \u201cone civilisation built on the ashes of another.\u201d 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\u00a0000 people would live in one of these underground cities. \u201cIt just shows you the resilience of humans,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Kate is happy to advise travellers with practical tips on booking a balloon flight in Turkey, and she can be emailed on: kateturkington.com<\/p>\n