Plenty of other balloons were rising above Cappadocia already.
Our pilot sailed towards the west, against the light, and turned the balloon a few times so everyone got to see the view. It was a very smart move, as the morning light did not get in the way of my photography.
Hot air balloon rides seem to be a very popular activity in this part of Turkey.
The balloon rose and fell along with the topography, sometimes scraping the odd treetop so we could see the amazing man-made structures now embedded into the amazing natural landscape.
Despite so much traffic today, we all maintained a safe distance from one another. There was barely a drop of wind, and the temperature rose quite quickly after the sun made its debut.
An hour later, it was time to find a spot to land, and load the next set of passengers.
The pilot was communicating with the ground team to get the trucks and vans into position for our arrival.