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Cappadocia will host 30 special-shaped hot air balloons from 10 countries during the seventh Cappadocia Balloon Festival. Organized by Türkiye's Culture and Tourism Ministry, the four-day festival will run from July 30 to Aug. 2.
Balloons from Türkiye, the U.S., France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil, Slovakia, Austria, and Poland will fly alongside the region's 156 commercial hot air balloons, which operate daily.
Designed in the shapes of the Turkish flag, an octopus, an owl, a clown, a chick, a wolf, a duck, a parrot, a rocket, a heart, and the Earth, the balloons will rise over Cappadocia's valleys at sunrise each morning before returning in the evening for illuminated balloon glow displays at the Pasabag Open-Air Museum.
Festival coordinator Mehmet Halis Aydogan stated that interest in the event has continued to grow, while participation has been capped because of the region's already busy balloon traffic.
He said balloon pilots and support crews arriving from abroad had begun entering Türkiye as final preparations were completed. "Balloon festivals are held in many parts of the world. There are major festivals in the United States, France, Belgium and Mexico. Cappadocia's greatest advantage is its extraordinary landscape, where 156 balloons fly every day.''
''It is a place where thousands of people come both to fly in hot air balloons and to watch them. When we decorate the skies with special-shaped balloons, it creates an incredible spectacle. That is what distinguishes us most from other festivals," Aydogan said.
He added that demand from Europe had been particularly strong this year, but participation was limited to 30 special-shaped balloons because of the high volume of regular flights in the region.
Aydogan said the festival will also feature the maiden flight of a whale-shaped balloon designed by sixth-grade student Bengi Serra Kaya, winner of the "My Dream Balloon Design Competition" organized among primary and middle school students.
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"Our first-prize balloon has been specially produced and will make its inaugural flight. Children have shown tremendous interest in the festival, and we want to build on that enthusiasm," he said.
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