Sirince
Greek Hill Village Above Ephesus, Emptied In The 1923 Population Exchange And Repopulated; A Protected Historic Settlement · Selcuk, Izmir
Sirince is a Greek village in the hills above Ephesus - whitewashed and stone houses stacked on two slopes above a valley of vines and peach trees, emptied in the 1923 population exchange and repopulated with Muslims from Greece, who kept the houses and the terraces. It is genuinely pretty, and it is also eight kilometres from one of the most visited archaeological sites in the world, which has consequences. Between about eleven and three the lanes fill with coach groups, every doorway sells fruit wine and lace, and the village works hard at being a village. Come at six in the evening when the coaches have gone, or stay the night in one of the stone guesthouses, and it turns back into what it is: quiet, steep, smelling of woodsmoke, with two abandoned Greek churches and a view down the valley. A word about the fruit wine - it is the local trade and most of it is not good. Taste before you buy a bottle.
Sirince Mahallesi, Selcuk, Izmir, Selcuk, Izmir, Turkiye
The village is lived in and open at all hours. Shops and restaurants keep daytime hours and are busiest between about eleven and three, when the Ephesus coaches come up. Guesthouses operate year round. The two old Greek churches keep irregular hours. Winter is quiet and wet with a share of places closed.