History of Ballooning in Cappadocia

History of hot air ballooning in Cappadocia goes back to 1980s. The first hot air balloon was brought to Turkey by Raks (Cassette Tape Company) in 1984 for a marketing project. Raks performed many flights in the region until 1987. These flights were mostly conducted without passengers with the aim of promoting the company's newly launched Cassette Players.

In 1985-1986, the Turkish Aeronautical Association (THK) ordered the first commercial balloon and started training pilots and performing commercial flights. As the first balloon company was established legally in 1991, balloon flights started as a tourism activity. In 1988, as part of the Turkish-American Friendship Project, world-famous Forbes Magazine's owner, Malcolm Forbes, flew in Cappadocia with a Suleiman the Magnificent shaped hot air balloon which has contributed the promotion of balloon tourism in Cappadocia.

As Cappadocia becomes a popular destination, many new balloon firms founded in the following years (Urgup Balloons is the 4th). Thanks to its historical texture, geographical beauties, Cappadocia has become a worldwide known hub for balloon tourism. Balloon flights are also carried out in Ihlara Valley in Aksaray, which is also accepted as part of the Cappadocia region. Except for the Cappadocia region of Turkey, numerous attempts have been made to introduce balloon tourism in other parts of Turkey but ended up in failure.