Day 3 & End of the Pre-Tour

The day started with an early alarm, 4:30 am to be exact, in order to ready for a 5:10 am pickup. Why, you ask, would I do something like that? For a hot air balloon ride of course! Six of us decided to take an early morning hot air balloon ride to see the sun rise and greet the new day. Even though 4:30 is very early and I was pretty tired later in the day, I am sooo glad I did it. The actual ride was so much fun, quiet, restful, and beautiful. I've wanted to take a balloon ride for a long time and this was the first opportunity that presented itself. Now I can't wait to do it again! We were joined by 18 Brazilians in our basket that held 24; we didn't speak their language and they didn't speak ours, yet we all joined together in community as we ushered in a new day from many, many feet in the air. The eventual height we achieved was between 1800-2000 feet; I'm just not sure how high we were at sunrise. There were about a hundred balloons all flying over the Cappadocia region early in the morning. It was so beautiful seeing so many colorful balloons as the sun rose. And it was really neat to fly over so many of the sights we saw the day before - the fairy chimneys, tall free-standing cones, and the spot where we shared  communion - simply amazing and awe-inspiring! After the 60 minute or so ride, we met up with the rest of the group at the hotel and travelled on to Uçhisar, a natural citadel used to warn of arriving invaders. We had yet another view of the Cappadocia region from the top that was breathtaking in its own way. Following our hike, we had a few minutes to rest in our air conditioned coach as we travelled to a ceramic pottery "factory." It was called a factory by our guide Ali, yet it was a family business, really a craft, that was passed down from generation to generation for many years. One of the master craftsmen, the uncle of our factory guide, showed us how the complicated Hittite wine vessel was made using a potter's wheel spun by foot. We then toured through the rest of the factory to see some of the "students" - most started around the age of 7 and many appeared to be in their mid-twenties - decorate and paint pottery. Then we were taken to the gift shop where we did a good job of supporting the local economy. After lunch we travelled to Kayseri airport to fly to Izmir where the remaining eleven pilgrims will join us tonight. So tonight  ends the pre-tour that has been remarkable. If the rest of the pilgrimage is even half as blessed,
amazing, remarkable...add any other superlative you can think of, it will be life changing. But then
again, isn't that what a pilgrimage is all about? Editor's Note: I haven't been able to get on my friend's computer to post pictures yet. I can't seem to find a way to add them from mu iPad. As soon as I can borrow a computer I'll add pictures.