Few things are worth rising at 4 a.m. to see. A full lunar eclipse or Halley’s Comet passing by every 75 years would likely qualify. But I can say from experience that a hot air balloon ride over the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia is most definitely worth an early rise!
Cappadocia is a region in the centre of Turkish Anatolia that is renowned for its distinctive and mystical topography. The spectacular landscape was created by three now extinct volcanoes that triangulate the Nevsehir plateau. Mount Erciyes in the east is the highest at close to 13,000 feet, then Hasan in the southwest at almost 11,000 feet, and finally Güllüda in the northwest at a modest 7,000 feet.
Millions of years ago, all three volcanoes spewed volumes of volcanic ash, mud, and lava over the area, blanketing the ground with mountains of debris. Wind and water slowly sculpted the soft, porous volcanic pumice into elongated shapes, cones, and pillars while leaving the harder lava (basalt) rocks balancing precariously on top of the formations. The process continues to this day and you can see new fairy chimneys being shaped while ancient ones are ever so slowly crumbling away.
