Şirince Village

Village / Town

A historic former-Greek village in the hills above Selçuk, famed for its stone houses, narrow lanes and fruit wines — the perfect sweet stop on an Ephesus trip.

Set in the green hills just above Selçuk, Şirince is one of the Aegean's most beloved villages, with its stone-and-timber houses, narrow cobbled lanes and an atmosphere where time slows down. Of Greek origin, the village was a Greek settlement until the 1923 population exchange, and its characteristic architecture, still standing today, carries the traces of that era.

Şirince is especially famous for its fruit wines: home-made wines of pomegranate, mulberry, strawberry, peach and many more can be tasted at little shops on every corner. Alongside these, olive oil, hand-made soap, dried fruit, Turkish delight and local handicrafts fill the village's colourful market. Wandering the narrow streets, the breakfast gardens and gözleme stalls you come across offer the simple flavours of the Aegean.

Thanks to its closeness to Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary, Şirince is usually the final and most enjoyable stop of the same-day trip — perfect for crowning a day of history with a sunset in a hilltop village and a glass of fruit wine. It is about two and a half hours from our hotel.