Türkiye: Cappadocia hosts annual special-shaped hot air balloon festival.

SHOTLIST: NEVSEHIR, TÜRKİYE (AUG. 1, 2026) 1. DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN VISITORS WATCHING SPECIAL-SHAPED HOT AIR BALLOONS AT FESTIVAL SITE (TWO SHOTS) 2. DRONE SHOT OF EARTH-SHAPED HOT AIR BALLOON IN FLIGHT 3. VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF SPECIAL-SHAPED HOT AIR BALLOONS ASCENDING OVER CAPPADOCIA 4. VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF HOT AIR BALLOONS FLYING OVER FAIRY CHIMNEYS 5. HOT AIR BALLOONS AT FESTIVAL SITE (TWO SHOTS) NEVSEHIR, TÜRKİYE - AUG. 1, 2026: Special-shaped hot air balloons took to the skies over Cappadocia during the seventh Cappadocia Balloon Festival in Nevsehir, Türkiye, on Saturday (Aug. 1). The festival featured balloons from Türkiye, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil, Slovakia, Austria and Poland, alongside the region's commercial hot air balloons. Balloons shaped like the Turkish flag, an octopus, an owl, a clown, a chick, a wolf, a duck, a parrot, a rocket, a heart and the Earth floated above Cappadocia's fairy chimneys and valleys for about an hour as visitors watched from the festival site. Drone footage showed long lines of vehicles on the Goreme-Avanos road as visitors traveled to the area to watch the balloon flights. The four-day festival, organized by Türkiye's Culture and Tourism Ministry, is scheduled to conclude on Sunday (Aug. 2).