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Cappadocia | The Best Time of Day to See it

After going to Cappadocia many times, we have found that the best time of day to see Cappadocia in Turkey is at sunrise when the balloons are just rising. The trick is that the wind must be less than 7mph for this to happen.

The best time of day is about 30 minutes before sunrise while it is still dark and the balloons are just firing up. Their plan is to take the tourists up so that they can watch the sun rise over Cappadocia.

The Best Time of Day and Place

The truth is that you don’t need to spend $300 or more to go up in a balloon yourself. There is a nice high cliff here at the edge of the city where you can watch them from the comfort of gold old terra firma.

We recently went, and didn’t even need to be on that cliff. See the video below for the view from the patio of the hotel down in the valley where they launch. The time is just before sunrise when the balloons are starting to fire up.

The Top Reasons to Visit Early in the Morning

When it comes to seeing the fairy tale landscape, I still venture to say that the morning is the best time of day to visit. Cappadocia is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Turkey and the crowds get thick. It can be very annoying. Here are some benefits of visiting popular sites during the morning.

  1. Pictures. The crowds at the popular sites can be very annoying. Especially when it is difficult to get a picture without people in it. The popular sites know this and so they open between 8 and 9am. For example, the Goreme Open Air Museum opens at 8:30. After 10am, the crowds are so thick that it gets annoying.
  2. Underground Tunnels. The underground cities nearby get very busy. Moving around in the small underground tunnels gets difficult. Especially since many of the passage ways are only wide enough for one way traffic. These underground cities open at 8am.
  3. Breakfast. Breakfasts is one of the best culinary experiences in Turkey. If you have never experienced a Turkish breakfast, it is definitely worth it. Forget bacon, eggs, waffles, pancakes, and syrup.
Breakfast. Known to the Turkish as Khavalti.

Another reason why the early morning is good is because the balloons will be warming up against a dark sky. This sight is beautiful when you see the contrast of the fire and the dark sky.

The balloons firing up against the dark sky is gorgeous!
The balloons as they are just rising at sunrise

The Best Time of Day Summary

The best time to see Cappadocia is just before sunrise in the morning. The view of the balloons, and the fact that you can beat the crowds are reason alone to make it the best time. Top that off with a beautiful Turkish breakfast!

Thanks for reading. If you are a person that is interested in the Bible, I highly recommend another article I wrote about it’s early Christian history.

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