Hot-air balloons at sunrise
Float over fairy chimneys and valleys at dawn. We book trusted operators and arrange your hotel pick-up.
Our Story
The house of Evanthia
In the late 18th century, a Greek mansion rose in the Duayeri quarter of Ürgüp. It was home to Evanthia Ignathio, a healer said to carry a gift passed down from Saint Johannis. She lived here until the population exchange of 1923, when she left Cappadocia and was never heard from again.
A well-known local family took over the house, and it welcomed distinguished guests, among them İsmet İnönü during his visits to Ürgüp. Empty from 1980, it slowly fell silent.
In 2018 we began a four-year restoration that respected every wall of the original plan. Today the house is certified by the Ministry of Culture as a heritage building, and it carries her name again.
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."
George A. Moore
Before restoration · 2018
Before & After
Four years of patient work
The same arched windows, the same door: abandoned in 2018, and today. Drag to compare.
Before
After
Found during restoration
The tablet that told us her story
While restoring the house, we uncovered a broken marble tablet. Its Greek inscription speaks of healing and carries the name Evanthia Ignatiou. Everything we know about the healer of this house begins with this stone.
Ιάματα προχέω ιαματικά,
πάθη θεραπεύω τα σωματικά…"I pour forth healing remedies, I cure the ailments of the body…"
- 1700s
Mansion built for the Ignathio family
- 1923
Evanthia leaves in the population exchange
- 1980
The house falls empty
- 2018–22
Four-year heritage restoration
- Today
Six cave suites open their doors