A BRIEF HISTORY OF BALLOONING

          1783
          On the 19th of September a hot air balloon took of with a duck, a rooster and a sheep aboard. This was a balloon made by the Montgolfiere Brothers and it was made of paper and fabric. It was the king, Louis XVI who ordered that this first balloon should fly only animals. This balloon went up to a height of about 6000 feet and landed quite safely.

          1783
          The first hot air balloon with human passengers aboard was launched on November the 21st. It was made by the Montgolfiere Brothers, of silk and paper. The pilots were Jean François Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis François-Laurent d’Arlandes. The balloon took off from the centre of Paris and rose to a height of about 500 feet to fly for more that 5 miles and landed in the middle of vineyards. The local peasants and farmers were very annoyed by this fiery object descending from the skies. The pilots offered them some champagne that they had aboard both to appease them and also to celebrate the flight. This became a tradition in hot air ballooning and at each landing there’s a champagne party to celebrate the flight.

          1999
          On March 21st Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard completed the first successful round the globe flight aboard the famous balloon, the 'Brietling Orbiter'.

          2002
          On July the 2nd, it was Steve Fossett who flew on a solo flight around the world all by himself.

          1989
          The extraordinary and unique flight conditions of Cappadocia were discovered and consequently commercial balloon rides began in the region. Within years, as demands for this spectacular flight increased, several companies were established

          2006
          Anatolian Balloons was founded after many years of research and investigation. Knowing the faults and defects of the existing companies, it has started with the best and highest quality equipment and the most professional staff to be able to offer perfect service. At the moment not only it is the biggest and the most successful balloon company of Cappadocia and of the world, but it is also the only one to possess ISO 9002-2000 quality certification, which is the proof of its quality. In other words, commercial hot air ballooning has reached the ultimate with Anatolian Balloons.

          2007
          The biggest hot air ballooninthe history of ballooning was manufactured as a 30 passenger balloon for Egypt toset a record. But now, the biggest hot air balloon has been manufactured for us as a 36 passenger balloon, both to set a new record and to show the world that Turks are the best at this business. Now it is flying in the skies of Cappadocia. There will be many new records set with Anatolian Balloons.