As summer begins to fade my thoughts start focusing on autumn colors, breakfasts, ballooning and vineyards in
Cappadocia. My first thoughts return to that October early morning breakfast before going hot air ballooning. I can still remember the Cappadocian landscape dotted with vineyards below. The landscape was so spectacular, as we floated pass
fairy chimneys and rock castles, in the early morning light. Recently however, when reviewing photos I stumbled on other Cappadocia breakfast photos. This digital photo find triggered me to think about our
Spaswinefood travels in Turkey where we explored Turkish food, wines and more.
Breakfasting and Ballooning
After the pre-flight breakfast we were bused to our take off site. There we saw the balloon being inflated with hot air. Once the balloon was inflated enough to stand up straight we were loaded into the basket.
It is without doubt that we were introduced to some fabulous Turkish cuisine as we traveled around Turkey.
Spaswinefood "flying carpet tour" of Turkey was magical, traveling just over 5000 km. Our travels began in Istanbul, with stops in and around Gallipoli, Canackkale, Troy, Bergama, Kusadasi, Ephesus, Pumakkale, Aphrodisias, Fethiye, Kayakoy, Antalya, Konya, Ankara and Cappadocia areas. The Turkish hotels we stopped at along our route offered buffets with many options. There were salads and other cold foods (
mezes), hot dishes (mezes), entrées, cheeses, desserts and the list goes on. Our lunch stops at smaller restaurants were often amongst the tastiest foods we have ever eaten. Turkey is a popular tourist attraction therefore it is not surprising that it has wonderful cuisine. In fact
Turkish cuisine is regarded as one of the best cuisines in the world. We sampled widely from the many food options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fortunately we did lots of walking while exploring the many archaeological ruins.
Now let me not forget those Cappadocian breakfasts. I did not mind the early morning rise on our first day in Cappadocia to go hot air ballooning. That morning we had two breakfasts, YES. One breakfast to get us going and then a regular breakfast when we return to the hotel.
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Ballooning in Cappadocia © Spaswinefood
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A breakfast drink, just after ballooning in Cappadocia © Spaswinefood
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| Saying photographic goodbyes to new friends © Spaswinefood |
Now let us photo sample from those Cappadocian breakfast buffets.
Tom Brosnahan's travel website on Turkey gives an overview of Turkish wine regions. Brosnaham describes the wine regions are being centered in Mara and Aegean, East around Elazig and SE near Diyarbakir and some in the volcanic soils, such as Cappadocia. The Cappadocia area is stunning and very popular on the tourist circuit. We also found that local wine was offered, as part of the welcome drink options, when we visited jewelry and pottery shops. Wine has a very long history in Turkey. At the various ruins we visited throughout Turkey we saw lots of evidence of this. Traveling just over 5000 km., we discovered the mutli-faceted beauty of Turkey, as did the authors of
Anatonian Days and Nights. Nowhere have I traveled has there been so much to write about. Turkey's constant stimulating
Spaswinefood environment resulted in many photo shootouts (data for future articles)
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Ballooning in Cappadocia © Spaswinefood
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Soon we will hop back onto another flying carpet.
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Turkish carpets are both beautiful and expensive © Spaswinefood
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Yes, it is hard to forget breakfasts, ballooning and vineyards in
Cappadocia You will find more on my travels in Turkey and elsewhere at Spaswinefood, or in my travel column at the Examiner.
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