Imagine taking off in a hot air balloon. As you leave the ground, the houses look smaller, the view expands, and the air gets cooler. To describe these evolving states and progressive changes in Turkish, we use the adverbs gittikçe and giderek.
Using Gittikçe
The word gittikçe comes from the verb gitmek (to go), giving it a literal feeling of "as it goes on." It translates to "gradually," "more and more," or "progressively."
To show that a state is changing over time, place gittikçe before the verb describing the change.
Using Giderek
The word giderek functions exactly the same as gittikçe. The two are completely interchangeable and mean "increasingly" or "gradually."
Verbs of Change vs. Becoming
Notice that in the examples above, Turkish often uses specific verbs that have the "change" built right into the word itself, such as küçülmek (to get smaller), genişlemek (to expand), or soğumak (to get cold).
However, if you want to describe a gradual change using a standard adjective that doesn't have a dedicated verb form, you can simply pair gittikçe or giderek with the adjective and the verb olmak (to become).
Once your journey is over and it is time to return to the ground, use these exact same patterns to describe your descent.