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 landsc...

A little off the highway in the Taurus mountains of Turkey we found a lesser known known gem with a connection to the Bible called the Ivriz Rock Memorial. It is located here according to Google Maps, but this is a more precise location. After doing some research, it was surprising to learn that there is a connection to the Bible. This connection is what I want to share. The key to seeing it’s connection is to first of all understand the writing on the relief itself.  What the Rock Relief Shows On the left we see a god named Tarhunas. He has a horned helmet which was a symbol of divinity. He is holding some stocks of wheat in his left hand and grape clusters in the other. Just below his left arm we see a sickle. All of this indicates fertility and prosperity. To the right we see a person of smaller size in relation to this god, indicating inferiority. This is King Warpalawa. Notice that he is standing on a platform and is raising his hands. This is a gesture of worship. The locat...

Mount Ararat is probably one of the most remote places you can visit in Eastern Turkey. When visiting this place, we used the city of Doğubeyazıt as our home base since it has nice hotels and restaurants.  After being in Turkey for 5 years, I have to say that this area not only has significant sites for believers in the Bible, but some of the oldest history. The bonus is that Doğubeyazıt has delicious food and some cool, quirky sites to visit as well.  Here I want to share with you things that you MUST know and see if you can make it this far into eastern Turkey with the goal of visiting Mount Ararat. Interestingly, Jehovah started life in this area twice! Once in the Garden of Eden and second from Mount Ararat. I wrote another blog about our visit to the nearby possible location of the Garden of Eden here . Mount Ararat sits on the borders of Turkey, Iran and Armenia. It is located just North East of Lake Van, Turkey. Just to borrow a map from the old green Bible, here is it...

Sagalassos is an ancient city in the mountains above Ağlasun, in Turkey’s Burdur province. My wife and I visited on a road trip from Konya, stopping first in Eğirdir. The mountain views, monumental fountains and extensive ruins made it a memorable day. This guide brings together our photographs, observations and the 24 numbered stops on the visitor map we used. If your time is limited, our main highlights were the Upper Agora, Antonine Fountain and theatre. About this guide: Our photographs and practical observations are from our September 2020 visit. This article was reviewed in October 2026 to correct historical descriptions and distinguish our past experience from current visitor information. We have not revisited to check present-day access, prices or facilities. Jump to: Getting there · Tickets and opening hours · Site map and 24 stops · Antonine Fountain · Theatre · Planning your visit Getting to Sagalassos and parking Sagalassos is quite remote in comparison to o...