How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia

How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia

Cappadocia

We had landed in Istanbul in the morning and then taken a domestic flight which had brought us to Goreme, a town located in the famed Cappadocia region of Turkey. The town is spectacularly located among the “Fairy Chimney”, rock formations. These are thin spires of rock that protrude from the ground and range from a height of about 1.5 to 4.5 meters.

How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia
We had checked in to one of the Cave suites, which were actually built into one of these rock formations, the interior of the hotel was to say the least, nothing less than lavish, though it all came at a price. We had, had a quick dinner and decided to retire for the night as we needed to get up early the next morning for the surprise that I had planned for her.

I looked at her as she lay on the over sized bed, she looked so beautiful and the same time so vulnerable. Looking at her I wondered how she could be so strong. I had not told her what the surprise was and she had not pressed me, going along with me and humoring me. I was happy to see that she was happy. I could see that from the twinkle in her eyes, I had not seen that twinkle for a long time.

Her gentle snoring rose to a crescendo and jolted me out of my thoughts. I looked at my watch, it was 2.00 in the morning. We were to be picked up at 5.00 in the morning, so I hardly had a couple of hours to catch some sleep. I tried hard to sleep, and the harder I tried, the more difficult it became.
Finally I gave up, and sat in the huge armchair, looking at the silhouetted of the beautiful woman on the bed. Tomorrow was the day, I thought. I had got everything planned to a ditto and was sure I could pull it off. I had waited for this day for too long, it was now or never.

D-Day dawns in Cappadocia

We were ready when the car came to pick us up at 5 in the morning. After a short drive we arrived at our destination. We were ushered into a comfortable looking room and asked to be seated at a table laid for two. We were served breakfast, which we enjoyed quietly, none of us speaking but communicating silently with each other.

“We are ready for takeoff sir!” said the man who came and stood respectfully by our table.

Shall we go? Said I, as I gave her my hand and helped her out of the chair, not responding to the question in her eyes.

“This way, sir!” the man lead us to the middle of a large field where a huge balloon stood.

“Wow”! So this is the surprise? She blurted out, looking at me.

I just smiled and nodded as we got into the basket of the Balloon.

“Is it only the two of us?” she inquired incredulously.

Yes, I said nonchalantly, as I thought, it has to be the two of us, after all I have paid 1500 Euros for this private Balloon tour in Cappadocia.

Soon we rose high up in the air, we rose to about 10,000 feet and we floated over the beautiful Cappadocia region. We could see the beautiful landscape of rocks stretching out below us, getting illuminated by the first rays of the sun. We turned eastwards and the sight that we beheld was breathtaking. The sun was peeping out from the horizon in all his flamboyant colors, his rays etched brilliant and colorful patterns in the sky and the rocky landscape beneath our feet was bathed in myriad colors. The whole setting seemed surreal and had a magic of its own.

How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia

Here is a video of the sunrise from the baloon. (Courtesy: nyjeep)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN3p1jbzGxY

To add to the magic, the soothing notes of a violin emanated from a hidden speaker in the balloon.

Now! I thought to myself.


She was gazing at the rising sun, lost to the world, perhaps lost in her own memories.

How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia
I gently took her hand in mine and huskily whispered, “I love you mom”!

“Happy Mother’s Day!”

She hugged me to her bosom, a tear escaping from her eyes, but she immediately wiped it off.

How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia
She turned to me and said sternly, “So this was the surprise that you planned”, “you must have spent a fortune for this trip to Cappadocia”.

I smiled at her and said, “No, not a fortune, what I spent was peanuts, I could spend a fortune just to see that twinkle in your eyes.


I poured out the Champagne which came along with the Balloon tour and placed the glass in her delicate hands.


My mom smiled at me, a smile that brought to prominence the dimples in her cheeks and transformed her into one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. I felt a surge of happiness; I had never seen her smile like that after my father passed away 10 years ago!

This is a fictional account. How I wish I would had been able to do this for my mom, when she was alive.

This article was also published on Huffington Post. Please click here to check out. 

Happy Mother’s Day! Do share with us your experiences on how you did that something special for your Mom on Mother’s day or any day for that matter. Have you ever felt that you were the reason for her happiness?

Blessed are we to see our Mom smiling!  

How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia

 

How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia

 

50 thoughts on “How I Proclaimed My Love in Cappadocia”

  1. Beautiful fiction! I have always wanted to go to Turkey. And when I do, I definitely want to go Ballooning over Cappadocia. The scenery is spectacular.

  2. Wow! What a beautiful story. I wish I could take my mother somewhere like this and surprise her. The first photo of the hotel is just stunning. Do you have any photos of the inside? I’m so curious to see what it looks like!

  3. Had me fooled–twice! I thought this was going to be a proposal story. I also didn’t realize this was a fictional account until the very end. Beautiful story. I’m sure she would have loved this.

  4. Such a sweet and vivid story. I was a bit confused when you mentioned it is a fictional account because it felt so real. Nice twist also because I thought it was written for a wife or girlfriend and there was going to be a proposal somewhere there.

  5. You write so beautifully. I’m sorry that you weren’t able to take your mom on this ride, but if you do get to enjoy this one day, I know her spirit will be there with you.

  6. Lovely story, you write very well and the pictures are just gorgeous. It was quite busy when I visited!

  7. The whole time I was reading your story I thought “how cheesy and romantic”! I’m so bummed now that it wasn’t real. I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope that your sense of humour and your memories help the process. Cappadocia is high, high on my list (just like those beautiful hot air balloons!).

  8. Great story. At first I thought you were going to propose to someone. As a mom, I can say that I would be thrilled if my kiddos surprised me with a balloon ride.

  9. This was a really lovely story, and a beautiful tribute to your mother. I bet that she would’ve loved this trip and I think it’s special to have written it for her. Happy Mother’s Day to your mother and may she rest in peace. Xx

  10. What a lovely story and I’m sorry for your loss. I wish I could visit Cappadocia soon. Its been a dream of mine to go on a hot air balloon ride there.

  11. Hey, I like the twist in the story. I thought you were going to propose, then I thought it was real about your mom. You should take up novel writing! But one piece of advice: use the simple past, as in “we landed” not, “we had landed.” It will flow better for the reader.

  12. I must say that I was very excited for the ending of the story! Though a little disappointed that it was fiction, it just shows how well you write (: and it also serves as a reminder of how we ought to treat our mums better! Did you actually go to Cappadocia though? The experience sounds amazing!

  13. I would love if my children would do it for me 🙂 So far I have done it for myself. Love hot air balloon flight in Cappadocia! Read article in my blog!

  14. This is such a sweet post. I love it. My mom passed away when I was 10 and I wish I could have done something like that for her. Mother’s Day is always such a bitter sweet day for me. Maybe it will change, when I have kids one day myself?

  15. Living in a cave suite and watching the sunrise from a hot air balloon – how wonderful is that!! Seriously! I never knew of Fairy Chimney rock formation though. Quiet an interesting find. Would love to visit here

  16. I am touched…its such a joy to feel the bond between a mother and her child! I am sure she would have been a happy mom when she was on earth…blessed to have a son who thinks so much about his mom after she has gone. I half expected it to be a wedding proposal when I read the title…the end made me feel so nice…warm in my heart 🙂

  17. I also thought this was going to be a proposal story halfway through – but it was even *better* than a proposal! Alas, it didn’t happen. 🙁 That was sad, I’m sorry. I’m sure she knows it though.

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