Şirince is a village of stone and timber houses clinging to a hillside of vineyards and olive groves, eight kilometres from Ephesus and the town of Selçuk. It was a Greek village until 1923 and it still feels like one: steep lanes, two churches, courtyards shaded by vines and a tradition of fruit wines that is now its main draw.
It is the natural afternoon stop after the ruins: shade, a glass of peach wine, a village lunch and a little shopping. I include it whenever the programme allows, because it changes the rhythm of the day.
A little history
Tradition has it that the village was founded by freed Greek slaves from Ephesus, who called it Çirkince, "ugly", so that nobody else would want to come; the name was later changed to Şirince, "pretty". Its people lived off vines, olives and fruit trees, and in the 19th century they built two churches. They left with the population exchange between Greece and Türkiye in 1923, and Muslim families arrived from Thessaloniki and Kavala, bringing their own ways of making wine and olive oil.
For decades it was a poor, half-empty village. From the 1990s onwards houses were restored and wine shops and restaurants opened, and today it lives off tourism without quite losing its village character.
What to see in Şirince
The lanes and the houses
Two-storey houses with a stone ground floor and a painted timber upper floor, enclosed balconies and tiled roofs line the cobbled lanes that climb from the square. The best views are from the top of the village, next to the larger church.
The Church of St John the Baptist
Built in the 19th century, it has kept its dome and some of its frescoes and has been restored as a cultural space. Entry is free. The other church, St Demetrios, further up, is partly in ruins.
The wine shops and the fruit wines
Along the main street, dozens of shops offer tastings of peach, blackberry, pomegranate, cherry, melon and strawberry wines: sweet, light and made by local families. There is also wine from local grapes. Tasting is free, and the wines are sold in small bottles that fit easily in a suitcase.
Olive oil, soap and herbs
Local olive oil, olive-oil soaps scented with bay laurel or lavender, mountain oregano, sage and thyme, and jams made from figs and green walnuts. It is one of the best places on the Aegean coast to buy food to take home.
Restaurants under the vines
Family-run eateries with terraces overlooking the rooftops and the valley: gözleme made to order, meze with wild herbs, oven-roasted lamb and çöp şiş, the small skewers typical of Selçuk. Lunch here after Ephesus feels like a reward.
Tips for your visit
Allow an hour for a stroll and the tastings, two with lunch. The lanes are steep and cobbled, so wear comfortable shoes.
- Come in the afternoon: the coaches from the cruise ships pass through around midday, and by four o'clock the village is quiet again.
- Taste before you buy, and compare: not all the wine shops are equal, and the ones in the side streets put on less of a show.
- It works well with children: pomegranate juice, ice cream and lanes to explore.
- On spring and autumn weekends it fills up with Turkish visitors from Izmir.
Tickets and prices
The village is free and open to everyone, church included, and the tastings are complimentary. On our tours, when lunch is part of the programme, we book a table at a family-run restaurant.
Where it is and how to get there
Şirince lies eight kilometres from Selçuk along a mountain road: about 15 minutes by car or by the minibuses (dolmuş) that leave from Selçuk bus station. It is 20 minutes from Ephesus and 35 from Kuşadası.
How we visit it on our tours
The village gives its name to the Ephesus and Şirince day tour from Kuşadası, where it is the first stop of the day, before the walk through Ephesus and lunch. Our multi-day tours, such as From Cappadocia to the Aegean, are private, so Şirince can be added to the Ephesus day on request. For the ancient city itself, read my guide to the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre.
If you would like a day at Ephesus followed by a quiet afternoon in Şirince, message me and plan your tailor-made trip.