Walking up the hill to the church, we see a small sign pointing to a nearby cave, indicating a ticket office. When we reach the door, a Turkish man in his 40s or 50s opens it and welcomes us. He has a weathered face filled with character, a full Turkish moustache, and a smile in his eyes.

Jessica called it a "playground for grown-ups." We felt like two kids in a candy store, excitedly exploring structure after structure. We were completely alone in this alien world, having little adventures in and amongst a setting beyond anything I'd ever dreamed of as a child.

During the summers when I was young I remember walking outside of my house and seeing hot-air balloons in the sky. I used to dream of being able to fly in one of those balloons...but I never imagined that it would be over the most gorgeous landscape in all of Turkey.

Jessica and I made each other a promise before we left home: we both agreed that I shouldn't propose to her during our trip. It was a promise I never ever intended to keep.

When Tim and I started to plan our trip, we never had plans to visit Turkey. In all of our initial daydreams, Turkey never made the list. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to come here, it’s just the idea of visiting Turkey hadn’t even occurred to us.