We woke up before 5:00 am for something special: a balloon ride over Cappadocia. We had tried the morning before, but the wind was too strong. I’ve never ridden in a hot air balloon, making this an extra unique experience. Any sleepiness from the early start was quickly quenched as we lifted off and drifted over the landscape we had explored the day before. How incredible! We drifted for an hour, covering about six miles over the alien landscape.
We stopped back at our hotel for breakfast and checking out before beginning our long journey south. Much of the area immediately south of Cappadocia is fairly flat, but we could see the snow-capped Taurus Mountains in the distance. After going through ten tunnels dug through the mountains, we passed through the Cilician Gates, the natural pass through the range. The apostle Paul passed through it on his second and third missionary journeys. Its prominence as a major route continues today, which is why they’ve turned it into a six lane highway. Unfortunately, the narrow pass is no longer visible.
We reached sight of the Mediterranean coast and turned east, curving around the northeast corner of the sea. We stopped briefly overlooking the Plain of Issus, where Alexander the Great defeated the Persians.
After seven hours of driving (with stops) we reached our destination of Antakya (ancient Antioch on the Orontes), which we will explore tomorrow. We have a greater appreciation of the effort Paul took walking many of the miles we whizzed over today.
Before dinner we wandered down the riverside and checked out the modern huge mall next to the old bazaar – Turkey is a land of many contrasts!
