Behind the scenes of an Instagram photo in Göreme (Turkey)
For more than two years now that we have had the chance to travel, we have come across countless tourists ready to kill father and mother for a nice photo to share on Facebook or Instagram.
Social networks have exacerbated our narcissism and for some, travel has become more of an excuse than anything else to be able to publish photos and show followers how cool we are.
To be honest, it’s very difficult to escape the phenomenon completely and we also like to collect a lot of likes when we share a photo.
However, we try to :
- remain authentic and do not give in to the temptation to take all the cliché pictures possible (like paying for an extra dressed in traditional costume to pose next to us)
- do not embellish reality, our photos are never retouched and unless exception are #nofilter. We even sometimes have fun doing expectations/reality montages on this blog.
- don’t take too many pictures and take the time to enjoy the moment with our eyes and not behind a camera
This weekend, we were in the Cappadocia region in Turkey. This region is known for its breathtaking landscapes and cave dwellings. Last but not least, every morning, the region is flown over by a hundred hot air balloons. It makes the place magical and incredibly photogenic.
I think it’s the first time we’ve been to a place where a lot of people come after seeing pictures on Instagram. This is the case of a French couple we met who decided to come here on their birthday weekend.
Most of the troglodyte hotels in the city have magnificent terraces offering an incredible panorama. This is the case of our hotel (Sultan Cave Suites) which, surfing on the Instagram phenomenon, even installs every morning a decor with traditional Turkish carpets and cushions allowing to take pictures of this type.
It’s very nice but completely fake, breakfast is served much later, at another place. The decor will be removed as soon as the hot air balloons are over.
At 6:30 a.m., when the hot air balloon show starts, we see tourists, not hotel guests, disembark by cab and crash on the terrace.
They are mostly young women, in elegant dresses (when it’s freezing) and made up like stolen trucks (it’s 6:30 in the morning…).
Unhindered, these intruders take over the decor to start a photo shoot without the slightest concern for the hotel guests.
A hotel employee arrives to do the police and asks for the room numbers of those present. Our intruders will even go so far as to give one that, unluckily, does not exist.
It will take all the employee’s insistence that after “one more photo please” these instagrammers leave the place and get fired.
As soon as they got home, they probably rushed to embellish their photos with filters and share with their fans their cool life and the incredible breakfast they enjoyed in Göreme. Take a little tour on Instagram, it’s worth a look…
Except that :
- they entered the hotel like thieves
- it was much too cold to be dressed like that
- the decor and breakfast are 100% fake
- they stayed only 5 minutes…
- …before being fired as clean evil
While social networking likes can do a lot of good and flatter the ego, it takes very little dignity to do so.
On our side, afflicted by the ridiculousness of the situation, we took the car to go in the middle of nature 10 minutes further to enjoy this unreal show and of course… take some pictures guaranteed #nofilter 😉
