Upon arriving at the valley where we’d begin the hike, Dano and my already-swollen feet and ankles were waivering on whether I should make the trek. I copped out. Under normal circumstances I would have gone, but the last thing I wanted was to get stuck in the middle of the valley, unreachable by car, or find myself in early labor in a foreign country. So I got back in the car with the driver and we drove to Belisirma where we’d meet up with the rest of the family in a couple of hours. He was so kind to outfit me with a pillow and recline the seats so I could take a nap.
Dano and the kids made really good time. According to all of them it was a really great hike. The scenery was beautiful and, like most of the Cappadocia region, it reminded Dano of far western Colorado. He checked on our maps and found out it is situated latitudinally close to Colorado.
You can see the trail running along the valley floor.
Because of the river running through the gorge, the foliage is quite lush.
Along their hike they saw more churches and monasteries and even more pigeon homes near the natives’ homes.
We ate lunch in Belisirma at a restaurant that had wonderful tables on platforms stretching out over the river. It was so peaceful. A paddling (just learned that word!) of ducks came swimming by to enjoy the pieces of flatbread the kids threw in the water. 
From there, our last stop was the Selime Monastery which is, of course, a rock-cut structure.
It was hidden in a little town with very narrow roads up the hill from Belisirma. This monastery, however, incorporated a large kitchen with a chimney.
There was a chapel for worshipping. This monastery also had stables with rock-carved feed troughs. This is a linseed oil press which they used for cooking or fuel.
The kids are sitting on a grinding wheel which was at some point hooked up to this mill and was turned by the livestock which were housed there. We were so glad our driver took us to this very unique monastery.
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