{"id":8966,"date":"2014-07-19T01:00:03","date_gmt":"2014-07-19T05:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/?p=8966"},"modified":"2015-03-13T22:52:47","modified_gmt":"2015-03-14T02:52:47","slug":"the-pilgrimage-turkey-part-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/bibleandculture\/2014\/07\/19\/the-pilgrimage-turkey-part-four\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pilgrimage, Turkey: Part Four"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

There are few thrills more visceral in Turkey, than a balloon ride at dawn over the cave churches of Capadoccia. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly well worth rising at 4.30 in the morning, and cramming twenty four people into one giant basket under a balloon, and then singing \u201cUp,Up and Away, in my Beautiful, my Beautiful balloon\u201d to get to have this experience. It\u2019s not just that you are taking a balloon ride, you can do that most anywhere. It\u2019s that you are doing it over the moonscape and cave churches and fairy castles of Cappadoccia. And watching the process of blowing up the balloon and ascending and descending and moving around is fascinating in and of itself.
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Once off the ground, things are so quiet and peaceful, it seems like the ultimate spiritual experience, like you are with Elijah in his chariot ascending. And things below seem to take on an air of mystery, of unreality.
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What are those hills that look like cigars below?
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\"\"<\/a>
\nWho put the frosting on those hills? The same Person who put the snow on top of Mt. Honus, seen in the distance.
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Where are all those balloons going (some 50 of them)? Will we see the sunrise from up here maybe?
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Is that Goreme over there looking like a tea kettle?
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Oh, we are descending\u2014 already? And it\u2019s clouding up\u2026
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The trucks have chased us down in a field, and they are deflating the balloons now. Somebody pop the cork on the apple champagne\u2026.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks Lord for a great life experience. Maybe I can\u2019t fly, but it felt like it. Maybe I should get the coffee mug \ud83d\ude42
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There are few thrills more visceral in Turkey, than a balloon ride at dawn over the cave churches of Capadoccia. It\u2019s certainly well worth rising at 4.30 in the morning, and cramming twenty four people into one giant basket under a balloon, and then singing \u201cUp,Up and Away, in my Beautiful, my Beautiful balloon\u201d to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":8986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Pilgrimage, Turkey: Part Four<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are few thrills more visceral in Turkey, than a balloon ride at dawn over the cave churches of Capadoccia. 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