Sirince is a village located 8 km from the town of Selcuk up in the hills amidst grapevines, peach and apple orchards. It’s cute houses, beautiful scenery, winding cobbled streets and friendly villagers make Sirince a great place to visit if you’re in the area. I love going to Sirince very early in the morning, before the hordes of tourists arrive by the bus loads, before the sun has reached it’s hottest, when there is still a sense of peace and quiet around the village.
Eat and Drink
Gozleme – The Turkish pancake. You can watch the women prepare your food in front of you, rolling the dough out and filling it with a variety of delicious things you can choose from; cheese, meat, potato, spinach and then cooking it on the griddle over a wood fire.
Turkish breakfast – A Turkish breakfast consists of slices of beyaz peynir (white cheese), honey or jam, black olives, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, clotted cream (kaymak), boiled eggs and piles of delicious fresh Turkish bread all accompanied by hot black tea in small tulip-shaped glasses. I love having a Turkish breakfast (or just breakfast as we call it here!) in the early morning when the village is still quiet and the sun is cooler.
Sirince Wine – The village is well known not only for it’s old historic houses but also for it’s wide selection of local wines and olive oil. The wine is made from many types of fruit, mostly peaches, blueberries and grapes that have been grown locally. The Sirince winery produces 12 kinds of fruit wines.
Try a glass of Murver – An Elderberry drink with bits of fruit in it (apple/strawberry/orange/peach) to give it added flavour. The villagers produce it themselves and it’s probably my favourite drink in Summer as it’s so refreshing.
Things to do
Go Wine tasting – Sirince is famous in Turkey for its fruit wines with many varieties available such as kiwi, apple, blackcurrant, pear, quince, peach, clueberry, peach and pomegranate. There are many Sarap Evler (wine houses) in Sirince where wine tastings are available. Just becareful not to get too drunk, the cobble hilly streets are difficult enough to walk on without being intoxicated too!
Go shopping – The narrow stone streets are full of picturesque shops selling soaps, spices, wines, olive oil, honey, dried flowers, clothes, jewelery and other handicrafts made by local women. They are perfect to take home as souvenirs for your loved ones.
Visit the Church of St. John – Have a wonder around the Church of St. John, set in a beautiful courtyard. The Church of St John the Baptist was built in 1832 and is being restored by an American foundation under the auspices of Ephesus Museum. They have a delightful little courtyard outside the church and an underground wine cellar which is very unique.
Walk around the village – Have a wander around the village and once you get to a high enough point, take in the beautiful view of the olive groves and the lovely fresh mountain air…it really is a stunning sight.
How to get there
If you’re staying in Kusadasi then you can catch a dolmus to Selcuk from there, it will take roughly 20 minutes. From Selcuk you can take the Sirince dolmus, they run regularly throughout the day.
