Secreted high in the inland hills among wild orchards and rolling groves, Sirince Village is a scenic little village dotted with a dollhouse collection of stone and stucco houses. The area was probably settled when Ephesus was abandoned, but what you see today mostly dates from the 19th century. The story goes that a group of freed Greek slaves moved here in the 15th century and called the village Çirkince (Ugliness) to deter others from following. The name was changed to the more honest Sirince (Pleasantness) in the 1920s during the founding of the new republic.
Before Atatürk’s republic, Sirince was a larger town inhabited by Ottoman Greeks. The current villagers, who moved here from Salonica during an exchange of populations in 1924, are ardent fruit farmers who also make and sell an interesting assortment of wines. Flavours range from raspberry and peach to the trendier black mulberry and pomegranate.
Sirince Village is by no means the ‘undiscovered gem’ as usually marketed in other guidebooks. In fact, it’s the village’s widely known reputation for authenticity that has marked the start of its demise. During the day, souvenir shops run the entire length of the main street as vendors try to lure you in using a smattering of catcalls in different languages. Visitors who ignore this and stay the night (at a stiff premium, of course) will be well rewarded with the chance to see the real village after the tour buses have gone.
Sights & Activities
If you’re trying to avoid the crowds then it’s best to visit in the evening when the droves of daytrippers have long retreated from the mountains 3pm is about the busiest time of day. Şirince’s charm lies in its subtleties, so your time is best spent simply ambling around the crooked cobbled lanes and admiring the adorable architecture.
The ruined Church of St John the Baptist ( 8am-8pm summer, 8.30am-6.30pm winter) is of limited interest. Faded frescoes adorn the walls, which date back to Byzantine times. Funds are scarce, so restorations have yet to turn the space into more than a sanctuary for cawing birds.
Sleeping
Sirince is a captive market, and room rates can be ludicrously inflated for what you get.
Shopping
These days almost every house on the village’s main street has been transformed into a storefront selling a variety of local wares, namely fruit wine. Ask to sample your wine of choice before making the purchase it’s not everyone’s cup of tea some of the flavours taste a bit too much like cough syrup. Other shops sell olive oil, soaps and leather goods, usually crafted locally (it’s best to ask). It’s worth stopping by Demetrius of Ephesus (Sirince Köyü 26) , a local artisan who crafted most of the jewellery and trinkets for the movie Troy you’ll know you’re in the right place when you see the photo of Brad Pitt hanging above the cash register.
If you're in the region you should make an effort to visit this interesting village in the hills above Selcuk. The main town is car free during the day and it is a pleasant walk around the town to look at the buildings and peruse the shops. There are several local wines for sale and a good selection of restaurants…
Too spoilt by tourism to be enjoyable. Main streets are all souvenir shops. Back streets with rundown houses provide nice pictures. But still, takes an entire 45 minutes to see the whole village.
After reading good reviews, we decided to take a day trip to Sirince, which is only an hour drive from Izmir. Although the village is nice, I felt overwhelmed by tourist attractions, shops and sellers everywhere. We heard that there would be a lot of wine houses. So we were especially looking forward to the wine tasting.
A quick and pleasant drive up to this quaint village was worth it. (We did not go to Ephesus!) Started our day with Turkish coffee and some treats and then walked around the village for some shopping (spices, dried apricots and figs) as well as some great views. We avoided the "touristy" places and really enjoyed the perfect weather.
A athentic & very interesting architectural design of all these old stone houses built, also knwon for the fruit wines for you to taste & buy bottles! very near by to Ephesus to private sirince tours on the mountain to this village !
We made a private tours to this beautiful village Sirince. OK, it's not perfectly genuine village life because they are used to tourists' visits and they mostly work in tourism. But you can see a lot of original buildings, clothes, goods, food, hand made products etc. If you like markets, you will love this village like I do.
the village houses are beautiful, cheep wines, friendly people.
Jean Claude van Damme, also known as Emil, organised a wonderful tour for us from our hotel in Kusadasi to the fantastic old village of Sirince. The private tour was a highlight of our holiday. We met a very kind lady who provided a tasty lunch in her own house. The tour guide provided very good information throughout.
Charming place, taste the local wine, eat local food, visit the church, look at the panorama. To get the real taste of the village, I suggest you to stay there at least one night, when it is completely silent and peaceful.
This is where I work and live and I love my village… the only thing which bothers me is the crowd at weekends but of course it shows how attractive it is. There are nice Hotels and Pansions to stay, small restaurants with regional food and a small bazaar selling wines. Sirince is very near to Ephesus.