Hot Air Ballooning and Mountain Biking

I (Garfield) first arrived in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, by mail from a third grade classroom in Alabama. In Ankara, I visited the busy streets of downtown, the grassy parks of the suburbs and the library at a university. The Turkish word for library is kutuphane.

Library

Next, I took a bus to visit the tiny village of Göreme for a weekend. The Kapadokya region of Turkey has a unique landscape because it is made of soft volcanic rock which is easily shaped into hoodoos and pointy "fairy chimneys" by nature. Many cave churches and underground cities have been carved into the soft volcanic rock.

Kapadokya Landscape

We did many activities in Kapadokya, but my favorite was the hot air balloon ride over the Göreme valley. We had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning so we could fly for 2 hours before the the sun heated up the sky. We flew so low we brushed the tops of trees, and so high that the world looked miniature down below. Ballooning is a very popular activity in Göreme because the climate is ideal. I counted at least 30 other balloons in the sky that morning!

Balloons in the Sky

In the afternooon we we went mountain biking in the Red Valley and the Rose Valley. I loved exploring the rock formations of the landscape! Sometimes I felt like I was on the moon! The next day we went for a long hike through the Pigeon Valley with a dalmatian named Spotty.

Mountain Biking

Rose Valley

Red Valley