Sirince, Turkey and Ancient Ephesus
The Library of Celsus in Ancient Ephesus
If staying for a night or two when visiting the impressive Ruins of Ancient Ephesus, most people choose to stay in the nearest town of Selcuk simply for convenience. Selcuk itself has little charm however, and mostly exists to serve tourist crowds visiting for this purpose. We instead chose to stay in the slightly more remote and very charming hill town of Sirince (only another 15 minutes further by car from the ruins). Sirince has its share of tourists, too. Many staying in Selcuk come here mid-day for lunch and to shop the compact market in the center, but in all likelihood that is when you’ll be exploring the ruins, or possibly, even at the beach (yes, there are nice sandy beaches nearby!).
Sirince itself is compact and aside from the town center market, a handful of cute restaurants, and a few special lodgings, it is primarily a small and authentic residential village. What really made it special for us was where we stayed — The Terrace Houses, a cluster of 3 private rustic cottages (no mod cons aside from A/C!) on the hilltop, with lovely shared grounds and a small but peaceful dining terrace with a beautiful sunset view overlooking the town (where we had an expansive and delicious home-cooked meal served to us). You can read more about this special experience (including the challenging drive up the hill to the hotel) in my review below.
*This was part of a 14-night trip to Turkey. To see our complete Turkey trip itinerary click here.
The Gimlet Traveler Rundown:
All ratings are based on our experience and are on a 5-star rating system (see Site Info for more details). For mapped locations and links to the places listed here (and more) visit Google Map at bottom of page.
Gimlets: *
Plenty of wine (and even some good local wine), but no fancy cocktails in sight!Restaurants (all in Sirince): ***
The best meal we had was a home-cooked dinner served to us at our lodging, The Terrace Houses (as well as the home-cooked breakfasts); we also had a decent dinner at Uzum Restaurant, and a pleasant lunch outdoors in the town center at Cici Sirince Mutfagi.Sights: *****
Sirince is a pleasant, rustic and authentic hillside village with a quaint market; worth a stopover en route to Ephesus and a stay at one of the special local lodgings in the town. It’s a little further from Ephesus than modern, touristy Selcuk, but much more charming. The Ruins of Ancient Ephesus are the main reason people come to this area and it’s well worth it to see the massive archaeological site (including the famous facade of the Library of Celsius and the 25,000 seat Great Theatre). It is one of the largest ancient ruin sites of the world. Also visit the Terrace House (no relation to our Sirince Hotel!). It’s a separate ticket within the site, but you’ll be able to see the most recent excavations, as well as the on-site archeologists at work. We even managed to squeeze in a visit to Pamucak Beach, a wide sandy beach that we had almost to ourselves — and only a short drive from Ephesus. There are others in the area, but this was the closest we found.
GT Tip: If you are driving inland to stay in Sirince, it would be good to have an SUV, or least something other than an economy car (as we did). The edge-of-the-mountain road to the town is a twisty adventure, but the real hair-raiser came once we arrived in town. It’s a rocky dirt road through the center of town (including the bustling marketplace) and then up-hill (much steeper than it looks) to reach our hotel.
GT Tip: When visiting Ephesus, two suggestions:Get there very early to avoid the heat and the crowds (both are massive especially in summer). And by early, I mean 8:30am. Or go a couple of hours before closing. Bring water and apply sunscreen.
Park at the less crowded lower gate and take a jangling horse-drawn carriage (a little corny, but we enjoyed it!) to the main entrance at the upper gate. You can walk to the upper gate (about 2km), but you’ll find it easier to walk downhill through the ruins and then end your visit back at the lower gate (and your car). You don’t need to book this in advance, there will be plenty of carriages waiting.
Shopping: *
The Sirince Market in the center of town is worth a stroll. Expect crafts made by local artisans. There was an interesting “felt store," with handmade felt tapestries, rugs, scarves, etc. — but somehow we resisted buying anything.
Review of Terrace Houses Sirince Rating: *****
3 private houses perched atop the small village of Sirince, about 15 minutes from Ephesus. We rented the Olive House. Rustic charm, amazing views from the cafe terrace and the bedrooms, comfortable lodging, and a location convenient to the village (though you should note it is at the top of a hill). The owners' daughter (who was running the place the particular nights we were there) was friendly and fantastically helpful — she even stocked up on the local wine we liked on our first night, and oversaw an amazing home-cooked dinner out on the terrace the following night. While the twisty drive over the mountain and through the bumpy, narrow stone streets of the village can be a little harrowing, we'd recommend staying in Sirince, and specifically at the charming Terrace Houses, as an alternative to more commercial Selcuk when visiting the ruins at Ephesus. Sitting on that terrace with a glass of wine and reading my book was so relaxing at the end of a day of sightseeing. Not for everyone who might be looking for a five star hotel with all the mod-cons, but very sweet, charming and chill.
Date of stay: September 2011
Other hotel choices:
•Nisanyan Houses Hotel, pool, restaurant and several different lodging options.
•Pir Efes Konaklan (in the countryside between Sirince and Selcuk, so a bit closer to Ephesus) rooms look basic, but has nice pool.
Below is a map of hotels, restaurants, bars, shopping and sights found during our research. We didn’t have time to visit all of them during our trip, but all were of interest. Click on the icon at top left of the map to view the legend. Or you can click on the full-screen icon at top right to expand, which will also bring up the legend. The map is best viewed on a computer.
