Istanbul Revisited

Day 12

A wonderful sleep in with the only deadline set for the day is to be at breakfast before it closes at 10am. We manage this, then find the Laundromat around the corner expecting to sit for a while with a cup of local coffee as we watch the cycle progress and catch up on emails etc.  But it turns out to be a manned one so we only need to drop off the load and return for collection after 2pm all for 20 TL. Currently the exchange rate is AUD$1 = Turkish Lira 1.8 so almost half price. How good is that? Almost as good as the food, have I mentioned how good that is? The only thing in Turkey I find a little frustrating is when having to ‘spend a penny’ as they say, it actually costs 1TL (50c).  This I wouldn’t mind if the facilities are in good order but every so often you find it is a squattie not a pedestal, or it is lacking the basics like paper and acceptable air quality.  And they never have change – how can that be?

We found the Cooking Alaturka Kitchen and booked in for classes this afternoon beginning at 4pm.  It is very close to our hotel and came highly recommended by one of the other Aussies we travelled with yesterday. Then we walked for about an hour along the Bosphorus and crossed the Golden Horn to reach the section of shops in Karakoy that specialize in hiking and outdoor gear for some browsing. On the way home we had a grilled fish baguette for lunch under the Galata Bridge, something every visitor to Istanbul is supposed to do, but I think they are over rated. On the other hand the fresh pretzels sold by the street vendors are amazing – why has it taken us so long to try one of these?

Topkapi Palace from the Bosphorus walk

Looking toward the Asian side

Eric with the fresh Pretzel vendor

The cooking class turned out to be a private one as the other pair who had booked in didn’t show.  Evelyn who runs the restaurant and classes is a Cordon Bleu chef from Holland. Her partner George is an Aussie music tragic who used to play in bands during the live music pub scene of the 80s in Sydney and then held his own 60s music shows in clubs. He and Eric instantly had plenty to talk about. There was also Fayzi, a Turkish Chef to add the ‘local flavour’ (no pun intended, and Nazi to stir and wash the dishes (usually my domain).  It was a 5 course menu, described on the website as Ottoman classics, regional specialties and home cooking favourites. With only 2 of us in the class, and 15 booked in for the set menu dinner, it was certainly hands on. 

Preparing green runner bean meze

The pot stirrer

When we booked we didn’t realize we were going to be cooking for paying customers, we assumed we would eat what we cooked ourselves while kitchen staff looked after the rest. It added a whole new level to the experience and was a lot of fun besides.  Fazi had some very clever tricks up his sleeve, especially impressive with the whisk which he whirled like a dervish. Pun intended this time. We have recipes for yogurt soup, green runner bean meze, zucchini patties with herbs and cheese, lamb stew with smoky eggplant and finally walnut stuffed figs in syrup if anyone wants a copy. All come highly recommended!  The couple who recommended the lessons to us were among our dinner guests so we were able to share our recipes with them and they promise to email us copies of their menu. Isn't travel and the people you share it with fabulous!

Day 13

We decided to take the tram over to Taksim Square again and follow a city walk outlined in one of the books. We have time now to retrace our steps and seek out the things we enjoyed most about this city or discover new ones. Where Sultanamat is the historic core Istiklal Caddesi – the city’s mall – is very cosmopolitan. Café tables line the little back streets as they do in Melbourne and the main drag has everything from high fashion outlets to bookstores and silk.

You start at Taksim Square which is dominated by the Republic Monument. It features Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. He was the WW1 hero who lead the Turks at Gallipoli after which he pronounced that thoughtful dedication to all the fallen, that they are lying in peace together, Johnnies and Mehmets alike. At the end of the war the victorious European armies occupied Istanbul and were planning to divide what we now know as Turkey and the rest of the Ottoman Empire up between them and their allies. Ataturk led the war of independence that repelled them and established the Republic of Turkey. He is loved for having aligned Turkey with the west, separated religion and politics so there is civil law rather than Islamic law, adopted the western calendar, changed the alphabet from Arabic to Roman script, abolished polygamy and emancipated women…….. all in 10 years before he died. Quite an achievement; he must have had amazing foresight and been incredibly persuasive.

The food here is fabulous, have I mentioned that? We made a detour into the Ali Muhittin Haci Bekir Turkish Delight store, which is renowned as being the best and the first company to introduce the sweet to the West.  Shall share some with our MAE colleagues next morning tea if it makes it all the way home. We’ve also had to buy another fresh bagel today, these are very moreish. And check out the fresh juice places, how fabulous are their displays? 

The colours and aromas of the stalls so stimulate your senses.  We diverted into the biggest new mall and then by contrast the Rumeli Han Market because the entrance was so interesting dating back to 1870s but we found it dark and decrepit inside.

We found ourselves back at Karakoy, Istanbul’s main passenger port and always teeming with ferries plying the waters across the Golden Horn and out into the Bosphorus. New developments are evident but it is interesting to have been told that every time a company begins to prepare the foundations for a new building they ultimately end up discovering something of archaeological significance and the project gets held up for years and the costs must be astronomical.  Karakoy is also the hardware district so you can buy anything from taps and water filters to satellite dishes and hiking poles.  We now have a pair of these just in case we hike in Nepal.

After dinner at a local restaurant in the next block we were each given a Lucky Eye bead, an amulet that Turkish people believe protects against the Evil Eye: a kind of negative power or bad energy that even well-intentioned compliments might include as an unconscious dose of envy and resentment. Turks believe the envy of others can cause harm and that with the evil eye amulet all the bad energy will be directed to the amulet and it will break. This is an ancient superstition that is common in the countries around the Mediterranean sea, Arabia, Turkey and all the way to India. The Turkish name for this amulet is Nazar Boncuk. The Evil Eye amulet is everywhere in Turkey, seen hanging above doorways, from the rear-view mirrors of cars and tourist vans, or hanging around someone's neck, I’ve even seen it embedded in finger nail polish. Eric found one on a tourist van one day and tried to give it to the guide but he insisted we keep it or our luck might change. 

Day 14 Our last full day in Turkey
Eric headed off to the Archaeological Museum this morning but I have had enough of ruins and history lessons for a while so I  head out to get better acquainted with some of the back streets in the local neighbourhood. We plan to meet at the Egyptian Spice market in a few hours, easy for me to find, just follow the tram line to the Galata Bridge.  We each have local sim cards in our phones so if I get lost (quite likely) I can call. In no time at all I have been physically dragged into a carpet shop and another chap has offered to show me a short-cut down the back streets even though he hasn't asked me where I am heading yet.  Ah ha, It's not my age that has been responsible for the Turkish men not approaching me with indecent propositions, it's because I have been in Eric's company everywhere to this point. And I resolve to head straight toward that meeting.  Quite unexpectedly I find the tram line and instinctively turn left even though I'm sure I will get there too early.  It takes me two tram stops and signs to the Grand Bazaar at the opposite end of town to realize at last I should have turned right and have been heading in the opposite direction.  Better call and say I'll be late.  Bugger, that's when I discover my phone is still on the charger in our room.  
To cut a long story short I return home, find I have missed calls but he is not answering, I walk all the way to the spice market and can't find him in the crowds but he answers at least.  He left here an hour ago and is waiting for me in a cafe which I must have walked passed but he missed me.  Dripping with sweat from all that, we share a simple late lunch and then return home for a rest.  Fortunately he really enjoyed the museum, not sure I achieved my goals.

Sarcophagus from Alexander the Great's era.

Museum, once part of the palace.

I did manage to enter the old Istanbul Gar which is the station where the Orient Express pulled up.  A beautiful building, I walked onto the platform and discovered it is still in operation as the current station.

On the platform of the station

We couldn't find each other in this crowd

Tomorrow we fly back to Singapore, so this ends our trip diary. We have loved it all. Such a rich history, my one disappointment was not finding an opportunity to visit a caravanserai from the silk route days, though we did pass a few in the Cappadocia region. The travel sites call it the bridge but I think Turkey is more a buffer zone between East and West.  Can you imagine sharing borders with Greece and Bulgaria to the west, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria to the east? It has a history as a battle ground and with the current rising interest in fundamentalist Islamic followings it could be that Turkey is targeted again. We are glad we had the opportunity to visit while it is secular and peaceful.

Gallipoli

We began the day with a visit to Troy just 20 kms south, famous for the Trojan war and the legend of Helen, not to mention the Brad Pitt movie.  Excavations have revealed that the city was actually rebuilt on the same site 9 times. The first dating back to 3600 BC, the last built between 300BC and 300AD and during the Roman heyday. In turn they were each wiped out by earthquake, fire or war. The sixth or seventh city is thought to be the one described by Homer in the Iliad. There is not a lot to be seen here, excavation continues as with all the sites in Turkey but so slowly, the unearthed statues and treasure were taken to Berlin after the original excavations were completed by an amateur German archaeologist. After the defeat of Germany in WW11 the treasure was  discovered in Russia. The Turks would like it back but it looks unlikely that will happen. The replica wooden horse used in the movie is on show along the Cannakale esplanade where we walked last night.  

Earthenware pots and pipes

The main entrance

Altar of Zeus missing its statue

Trojan horse on the Cannakale Esplanade

Returning to Cannakale we crossed the Dardanelles by ferry and had lunch at the Crowded House Hotel before joining the tour of Gallipoli National Historical Park.  In 1915 the area was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey didn’t come into existence until the 1920s. According to our guide, the Ottomans had contracted and paid for England to build it 2 warships but by the time they were completed, England was at war with Germany and they refused to deliver, using them instead as part of their own Navy fleet and not returning the money.  Naturally this enraged the Ottomans who were neutral to this point, and so sided with Germany.  Who knows how much truth there is in this story, but it’s plausible. Anyway, having arrived at the site we can now understand how important it was for the Allies to gain control of the Dardanelles so as to open supply lines for Russia from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. The whole story from the landing to the eventual withdrawal unfolded as we visited each of the cemeteries, memorials and landmarks. 

Anzac Cove

Australian Memorial

Lone Pine

All that violence and hardship, endured over all those months, was hard to visualize as we walked around the beautiful landscape of the present day comprising peaceful green lawns stretching to narrow beaches, pine forests, sandy cliffs and a vista that expands over the Aegean Sea. But the rows and rows of graves tell another story. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission have done a wonderful job maintaining the sites with dignity and informative signposting. We are very glad we have been here but it is a sobering experience and there is noticeably less banter on the bus on the way home.

Looking toward Suvla Bay

Kusadasi

Day 8

After the balloon flight yesterday morning we flew on to Izmir by regular 737 jet engine – no balloons, no magic carpets.  We were met at the airport and transferred to Kusadasi, sharing the car with a chap from Williamstown, Melbourne so we chatted the whole way.  On arrival at the Arora hotel we were instantly unimpressed with the place but didn’t think we should cause a fuss, perhaps we have been spoilt by the fabulous locations and level of service at the first two places, and this is what we should be expecting. But then we discovered there was no bar fridge and a ‘no alcohol in the room’ rule.  What were they thinking when they booked two Aussies in here? Fancy having a balcony on the third floor overlooking the Aegean Sea (which we sailed on with friends from Butterworth in 1985) but not be able to make the most of it with a sun-downer session,  a-la=Brinkin Drinkin. Not to worry, we try the pool-deck bar, only to discover the service level appalling and the area very untidy, including the behaviour of some of the Rumanian residents.  Deciding not to patronize their restaurant we ambled down towards the waterfront looking for a seafood restaurant and ended up eating pizza and chicken kebab.  We couldn’t actually find a way to access the waterfront and there didn’t appear to be another café or restaurant within walking distance. In fact, nothing of interest within walking distance. To top off the evening we discovered this one restaurant option was also owned by the Arora, how lucky were we? When we got back to our room we still couldn’t enjoy the balcony as the staff were running some poolside games which involved lots of clapping and laughter at people making fools of themselves.  It was time to send an email to the company who organised our tour.  It was a very polite email which started with all the things we have appreciated about their arrangements up to now and then a dot point list of why they should not book people into this hotel in the future.  It was for their own good really, we were not expecting any changes to be made on our behalf.

To cut a long story short after breakfast in the morning we were collected for our group tour only to be whisked off the bus once we got into the centre of town.  We were offered a new hotel to move into at the end of the tour and the tour had been upgraded to a private one.  How impressive!  We had a great day which began with a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary.  Apparently she lived here under the care of St John after the crucifixion, and together they helped spread Christianity to the pagans of the day. It was interesting to learn that Moslems also highly respect Mary, mother of Jesus, it’s just that they believe he was another of the prophets rather than the son of God.  We watched a very devout Muslim man pay heartfelt honor to Mary today. At this site you find the only site where Moslems and Christians pray together at the prayer wall.  Holy water from a spring under Mary’s house is available to anyone who wants a drink, by chance we both drank from the third outlet which our guide later told us was the fount for eternal love. Ahh!  The other two are health and wealth. You can't be gluttons though.

Mary's house, now a consecrated church

This devout Muslim was happy to be snapped

And this font is an blend of all 3 

We then visited the ruins of Ephesus which was the capital of Asia Minor during the grandest period of the Roman empire.   The architectural achievements of these early civilizations fills us with wonder. What a history buff I should be, but I still have trouble putting the names and time periods in order. Thankfully Eric just soaks it all up and I can verify information with him as I write this.  Ask him if you want any more details.

 Walking down the paved Curetes St

The mosaics of the shop verandahs

The 2 storey facade of the library

A lioness guarding the ruins

After lunch we spent some time in Selcuk admiring the ruins of the Temple of Diana (pagan times) then the first church in the area (Christianity) and the first mosque (Islam). All are built within a stone’s throw of each other and can be captured in one photograph.  We were intrigued by the storks nesting on every available column still standing in the town.  Apparently they return here every year to nest and raise their young, they are loved by the townsfolk who have erected some further artificial nesting sites on top of light poles to accommodate them.

Once 1 of the 7 great wonders of the world

On return to the Arora we were able to check out without fuss and we headed back to the centre of town.  Our guide was still with us and he pointed out Pigeon Island where we should walk for the sunset panorama, just 15 mins away. Closer still was the grand bazaar if we wanted to walk to shops, the local beach for a refreshing dip and the best seafood restaurant in town are right across the road from our new hotel, the Onder. Straight away the service was impressive and we are very happy, I’m trying not to look smug (isn’t that a great word?) but I think Eric has noticed. To top off a great day we managed to catch the Crisps, who are currently enjoying a few days in Oslo, for a quick skype session.  With school holidays underway we currently have friends in Scandanavia, The Caribbean , the US and Hawaii, China and Australia.  How does one manage all those time zones? After a delicious seafood dinner we each ordered a glass of the local spirit. Raki tastes like Ouzo, you would think one sip would get you home on a magic carpet but ours didn’t turn up, so we walked home. 

View from our balcony toward Pigeaon Island

 Day 9

Today we travelled in a mini bus to the ancient city of Hierepolis, better known as Pamukkale and famous for its thermal springs.  It was a long drive there and back from Kusadasi but well worth it.  Over the centuries the water, which is highly saturated in calcium bicarbonate, flows over the edge of the plateau and cools, depositing calcium carbonate which forms the white chalky terraces that look something like the cascading rice paddies you find on hillsides in Asia, only snow white. 

The source of the spring was once the centre of the city of Hierepolis, now in ruins, but once well known for its therapeutic health spa. There are lots of ruins to explore the best of which is the theatre which Eric surveyed in detail while I sat in the shade and ate an ice cream. I’ve had enough of exploring piles of rocks for a day or so.  The terraces are amazing but sadly the trend toward a lower rainfall in the area and diversion of the spring water to swimming pools and irrigation means the terrace supply is seriously depleted. Much of what was once a wet wonderland is now dry and discoloured.  Increasing tourism is also applying further pressure, some years ago there were a couple of hotels built right on the site, but they have since been removed for heritage purposes.   You can wade in limited areas of the terraces or opt to pay and swim in the hot springs pool for a further 30 Turkish Lira. We have been spoilt with access to both Katherine and Mataranka Springs in recent years so decided not to bother.  Besides, the water is 35 deg and if we wanted to swim anywhere we would be looking for much more refreshing temperatures on this very hot afternoon!

 One thing we really enjoyed today was the company on the bus.  There was a Venezuelan, a Brazilian, a Japanese/American couple, ourselves and 8 Malaysians. There was a lot of chatter and banter all day which was fun.  Our guide was an older woman who not only shared all the historical facts but also enlightened us with cultural insights into marriage, divorce etc. 

Day 10

It was an early start today as we needed to check out and take our bags with us on the tour of Permagon, a city built by the Greeks from 399 BC. It was built on a hilltop, the approach very steep. Fortunately we were driven, others could take a cable car.  Overlooking the fertile valley, this very important city became the Capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon. There was once an Altar of Zeus here but when it was excavated it went to the museum in Berlin. There was a temple of Dyonysus and a huge library, second only to the one in Alexandria, Egypt.  This one held over 200,000 scrolls which it is believed Mark Antony later gave to Cleopatra as a wedding present.  The ampitheatre, built into the hillside, had the first moveable wooden stage which they could roll to the left or right for changes of scenes.        

So much cultural development but apart from invasions it also suffered from earthquakes and is in ruins.  A funny comment from an Indian Woman in our group today "I'm sick of seeing all these unfinished buildings! Nothing is finished, I'm bored."  When you look at all our pictures of the last few days you have to appreciate what she is saying.

Beyond the town walls was another important site, the Greco-Roman medical centre known as the Asclepion. It is something like the current day spa centre where patients could enjoy the therapeutic benefits of the thermal springs, mud baths, sleeping underground for dream therapy, reading in the library, light exercise in the undercover colonnaded walkways, entertainment in the theatre etc. It was interesting to discover that the current day medical symbol of a serpent wrapped around a rod is actually known as The Rod of Asclepius.

After lunch we found ourselves at another demonstration of onyx cutting and polishing, I’m now in possession of 2 onyx eggs but this one cost me a scalded hand in a silly challenge the proprietor of the business held me to, literally squeezing my hand onto the very hot rock after it had been polished and holding it there while I squirmed.  Not impressed, not encouraged to buy.  

About 3:30 we were deposited at a roadside café to await the bus to Cannakale while our tour headed home.  It was a very windy afternoon and we were glad the wait wasn’t any longer.  The local bus was a pleasant surprise though with a courier on-board who served tea and coffee, very comfortable seats and video screens similar to the ones embedded in the back of aeroplane seats (not that there was much to choose from if you can’t speak Turkish).  

We eventually made it to the Cannakale bus terminal and then found our way onto a local shuttle that dropped us at the door of our hotel with the assistance of a very helpful, young Turk who spoke perfect English.  It’s already 9:30pm and as we eat dinner we can see many people walking the esplanade, enjoying the coolness of the evening.  We join them soon after but briefly, it has been a very long day and tomorrow we have another one. 

Cappadocia

Day 5
While the muzziene was calling devotees to the mosque for prayers at sunrise this morning we were attending to a call to the domestic terminal for our flight to Keyseri  in the Cappadocia Region of Central Anatolia, . Thank goodness there was only very light traffic at this early hour or we would have needed to get up even earlier.  We flew east across the Bosphorus and the Asian side of Istanbul which spreads for a long way since 95% of the 15 million residents live on this side. Eventually though the urban sprawl broke up into a patchwork of fields coloured irregularly anything from bleached wheat crops to verdant green grapevines spreading over the plains.  Occasionally this patchwork is interrupted by areas more lunar like, with bizarre shapes called fairy Chimneys which is what we have come to see.  After landing we were driven for about an hour to Goreme and appreciated the sense of freedom to travel at speed without traffic congestion and its associated smog. It was such an early start we were looking forward to freshening up in our room before the afternoon tour.  

We soon discovered this is not to be, the tour is already underway and the van is on its way to the office where we have been deposited, we can check in at the end of the tour! In no time at all we are on our way again. The tour companies have everything organised into either a red or green day tour and we are booked to do red today.  We visited site after site of these fascinating rock caves, some are peoples’ homes, others are churches that were established in the fourteenth century, the days when it was forbidden to practice Christianity.  

The rock is the result of eruptions from three local volcanoes that you see in the distance, each snow-capped even at this time of the year. It is an astonishing landscape but we do feel a little like ants all following in the footsteps of the person ahead. It is very hot (38deg), even for us – not a skerrick of humidity - and many in the crowds that disgorge from the buses at each place of interest are not dressed very sensibly.  At each stop I see them getting more and more sun burnt.

We are staying in one of the cave hotels which are the specialty of the region, this one is the Vesir Cave Suite Hotel, and doing things a little easier than Fred and Wilma Flintstone. The underground temperature remains very pleasant all day and night at this time of the year and it is not so dusty as we remember the underground experiences in Coober Pedy. Perhaps that was because it was backpacker level and this is somewhat superior. All the soft furnishings are luxurious fabrics of Turkey, even our balcony has a carpet.

Day 6

Today we were on the Green Tour which began with a panoramic viewing spot above Gerome, then on to an underground monastery followed by a 4km walk through the green and shady Ihlara Canyon with lunch in an open air restaurant by the stream at the end.  This walk has been the first opportunity we have had to see and hear birds other than sparrows and gulls. We shared the table with a couple from Portugal who are very worried about the state of their economy which is similar to that of Spain right now.  You wonder how many other economies in the European Union are in the same boat as Spain, Greece and Ireland but we have not heard about them yet.

Travelling through this countryside reminds us fondly of our days in Juseu, Spain about the same time last year.  We are watching weathered men and women tending the fields with hand tools and growing the bulk of their own fruit and vegetables. Lots of pumpkin and zucchini in the fields, apricots, mulberry, olive and walnut in the orchards and tomatoes and eggplant in the backyards. Birds are highly valued in this region, not for their eggs but their droppings as a rich source of fertilizer.  Hundreds of dovecotes, hollowed out of the rock pinnacles, are there to attract nesting pigeons .
 We've also been intrigued to see the shepherds watching flocks of sheep and goats, some have a dog and donkey along. There are no fences here although in some areas farmers have made good use of the stones and built walls. 

After lunch we visited the amazing underground city of Derinkuyu. It has 8 stories and an extensive network of tunnels and rooms carved into the rock. It was a surprise to find how sophisticated this underground world is, equipped with living rooms, dining areas, stables, a wine cellar and a small chapel all connected to ventilation shafts. The people didn’t live here all the time, just when they were taking refuge from soldiers or invaders. They were hidden by massive millstone doors that could be opened only from the inside and incorporated traps and clever communication systems that included courier pigeons. There are a number of these cities in the region.

On the way back to Gerome we visited a dried fruit and nut wholesaler who gave us samples of many of his products and then an Onyx factory where we watched a demonstration of stone polishing. Lucky for me, I remembered that the word Cappadocia means “land of the beautiful horses” and so I was given the demonstration piece as a momento.

On returning to our Vezir Cave Suite Hotel we noticed a lot of activity at the neighbouring family's courtyard. Turns out a young lad was high up in the mulberry tree and all the women were underneath collecting the falling berries. The courtyard also has large dying pots and a massive drying rack for the hanks of wool.  We were invited to enter the workshop where we could watch one of the women working on a wool carpet. Then the boys also showed us the silk loom and the raw silk cocoons and how it is spun into thread for dying. 

We were met by Trace once we made it home, an Australian girl now living here. A travel agent in Sydney she came here initially to attend an Anzac Day service and has more or less stayed ever since, working in travel and tourist related businesses. She has just spent a miserable 7 weeks in Sydney where it apparently rained every day and she is so happy to be back here in the sunshine. She did explain though that this are can be pretty bleak in the winter when it is snowing.

Day 7

Six o'clock in the morning and much of the town is still sleeping but not those employed in the hot air balloon industry.  The lads have driven the balloons and baskets out to the fields and have the gas fired up.  A fleet of mini buses has already been collecting sleepy-eyed tourists from their hotels and we now find ourselves milling about in the Urgup assembly hall, coffee in hand while we are assigned to a pilot. 

Soon we are drifting over a field of apricot trees, lifting higher and higher with each blast of the propane.  Every now and then the pilot gives the gas a rest and in the silence the basket skims so low alongside the treetops that you feel you could lean across and pick the fruit from the branches. Moments later – gently, imperceptibly – the balloon is a kilometre above the earth, floating over a silent canyon where rose-pink, creamy white or honey-coloured rock formations are rising to meet us like the turrets of a child’s sandcastle – each one unique. To view it from the air, to see what the birds see when they soar on the thermals, is magical. What a thrill. Flying in a balloon is one of the best sensations ever. Like parachuting there's almost no feeling of motion, and apart from occasional roars from the burner when the hot air needs topping up, the only sounds in the sky are of birdsong. We were thrilled to see a few orange Hoopoes while we were ballooning, these birds rival even the Australian Bazza as the funniest looking of all our feathered friends. Zipping about below us, they are easily recognized by their crest and striking black and white barred wings. 

Every now and then the basket of the balloon rotates gently as our pilot uses guide ropes to open and close the flaps in the balloon. There are more than 20 passengers in this basket and as you scan the skyline you wonder at the number of other balloons aloft, there must be more than 50 and this happens more than 300 days a year, even in the snow.  It all feels so normal until you catch a sudden glimpse of your shadow on a rock face, or cornfield far below, and remember how far away you are from the ground.

As the balloon flight comes to an end our pilot, who has been in constant radio contact with her team, determines where she wants to land, and the 4wd and trailer that have been shadowing us discreetly since take-off, head over in our direction. The passengers are commanded to assume the landing position (similar to the brace position in an aeroplane) for our touchdown, which takes place in a field of wheat. Not exactly as soft as a feather, but it is safe and the boys quickly secure us and finish the deflating. We clamber out of the basket to share in the traditional toast of champagne that follows each flight.