Rising with the sun over Cappadocia, a hot air balloon offers a meditative view of central Turkey’s ancient landscape

The sun had yet to rise when we began our ascent over the stony landscape of Turkey’s Cappadocia region, where so-called fairy chimneys and craggy geologic formations make you wonder if you’re in a movie or on another planet.

As we climbed to nearly 3,000 feet above this UNESCO World Heritage site, our hot air balloon was joined by more than 100 others, some illuminated in the dark sky, delivering a magical view to us lucky few.

Sixteen of us from the U.S. and Canada were in a group that stood in a large basket, four to each segmented space, the balloon captain in the center.

The quiet of dawn on a Sunday was punctuated only by the sound of gas fueling the flame that keeps the balloon rising, and the occasional gasp from a passenger when we seemed too close to one of the rock towers. We weren’t.

Each of us, of course, was equipped with at least one camera, and we snapped away excitedly. It’s a kind of meditative experience, floating through the air, hardly feeling like you’re moving as you ascend, absorbing the distinctive scenery and pondering your good fortune, especially when you pause the picture taking.

This dramatic landscape in Central Turkey, formed over centuries by volcanic activity and erosion, includes underground cities, monasteries and rock-cut churches, some dating to the 11th century. The caves once served as refuges for early Christians. The spectacular Goreme Open Air Museum is part of the UNESCO designation and it’s not to be missed.

It seemed like we were in the air for a long time, but still the hourlong ride was over too soon.  A rough little bounce and a backward tilting basket was the tiniest bit scary when we landed. But we were exuberant when we climbed out of the basket and toasted our adventure with a bit of bubbly.

I wasn’t alone in my craving for a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia. In 2024, a record-setting 933,000 people visited the region for just that reason.

The activity is a relatively recent tourist attraction for Turkey, starting in 1991. And in a country that’s home to Europe’s largest city with a history dating back 2,500 years, ancient tourist attractions continue to pull in crowds.

Most visitors who travel to Turkey to float over Cappadocia will make their way to Istanbul, one of the most fascinating cities in the world. With nearly 16 million people, straddling two continents, Istanbul is chock full of culture, history and terrific food.

A food tour can be a great way to get an overview of the city, both for the excursion and the way that food provides a window into the culture and everyday life of a place. A tour with Culinary Backstreets can take you from Europe to Asia and back on foot and by ferry and local bus.

Along the way, you’ll sample local specialties such as the traditional breakfast bread simit, kind of a cross between a bagel and soft pretzel crusted with toasted sesame seeds; classic doner meat, what we might call gyros; and fine baklava, made with sugar syrup not honey.

Starting at 9:30 a.m. and finishing about 4 p.m., it’s a full day, pun intended. Dinner was superfluous.

Turkish bathhouses have been popular since the 15th century and a visit to one combines history, culture and luxury. I experienced one that’s only 500 years old, the Zeyrek Cinili Hamam. It reopened last year following an extensive renovation that took more than 10 years and cost more than $15 million.

For about $100, you get an hourlong session being soaped, scrubbed and rinsed by a kindly attendant who gives you a foot rub and a shampoo. In between, you rest on a heated marble stone. Bathing suits are optional in the gender-segregated group treatment rooms. Don’t miss the attached museum that explains the bathhouse tradition as a place for cleansing, purification and wellness.

Istanbul has more than 3,000 mosques. Their minarets dot the skyline and the five daily calls to prayer are part of the city’s soundscape.

The shifting role of religion in this historic region is embodied in the monumental Hagia Sophia, perhaps Istanbul’s most famous landmark and tourist destination. Nearly 8 million people visited in 2024. Built in the 6th century as the Christian cathedral of Constantinople, the cavernous brick and mortar building was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly 1,000 years.

When the Ottoman Empire conquered the city in 1453, the Hagia Sophia was made into a mosque. Minarets were added and mosaics in the interior were painted over in keeping with an Islamic tradition that prohibits depictions of the human form.

So it remained for nearly 500 years, until 1935 when the government of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revered founder of modern Turkey, turned it into a museum. That conversion was reversed in 2020 by a Turkish court that let it become a mosque once again. But some of the centuries-old mosaics, restored over the last two centuries, remain visible.

It’s about a 20-minute walk from the Hagia Sophia to another of Istanbul’s visitor landmarks, the Grand Bazaar. The 500-year-old market was once the commercial hub of the Ottoman Empire. Today it is geared toward tourists but is still a kaleidoscope of people and goods — carpets, fabrics, ceramics and pottery, candy, spices and jewelry —particularly gold, which is popular among Turkish residents.

It’s an ancient, vast maze of a shopping mall with about 4,000 shops on more than 60 covered streets. Shopkeepers make their pitch in English to draw you in for a look at their wares. My husband did most of the shopping on this trip and he found shopkeepers to be enthusiastic but not pushy toward him; they did take “no” for an answer.

One thing you won’t see in the Grand Bazaar is a price tag. Be ready to bargain. It’s expected. My husband was in search of a carpet. After visiting half a dozen shops, he found one he liked, had some back and forth with the seller and agreed on a price, with shipping included so we didn’t have to carry it home on the plane.

It showed up on our doorstep in Chicago a few days after we returned home and now graces our entryway.

That rug is a tangible reminder of our time in Turkey, but the memories of floating like the Wizard of Oz over a dreamy landscape might just outlast the carpet.

Terri Colby is a freelancer.