Terrace Houses

Sirince, Aegean Coast, Turkey
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Delightfully restored cottages and terrace café in the leafy hill town of Sirince, near Ephesus and beaches

Delightfully restored cottages and terrace café in the leafy hill town of Sirince, near Ephesus and beaches

This place charmed us to bits. Why? Firstly, the houses: a cluster of 19th century cottages built by the Greeks before they abandoned this pretty hill town, and restored with lashings of love and personality by Anglo-Turkish owners Charlotte and Omer. You'll find reclaimed marble basins and claw-footed tubs, grand four-poster beds and snuggly sitting rooms, cool Chinese lanterns and wrought iron chandeliers, strings of drying red peppers in the kitchens and clutches of fresh pink oleander by the bedside. These are cosy homes with character and history (which Omer can, if you want, tell you all about).

Secondly, the town: Sirince (pronounced shirinjé) is a cool, pine-ringed Eden perched 500m above (and several degrees below) stifling Seljuk and concrete Kusadasi. Admire stately crumbling townhouses, explore cool footpaths, barter for lace doilies, fruit liqueurs and painted ceramics with the gentle townsfolk - one of whom, the charming Aysel, serves silver-domed dinners and savoury breakfasts on the magical terrace. Oh, and one more reason: you're just 10km from the eastern Med's most impressive ancient city, Ephesus.

Highs

  • Its proximity to Ephesus is reason alone to stop over here; but come for a week, explore the beaches of Dilek and the markets of Tire, and you will really get under the skin of this fascinating area
  • Skip the self-catering: breakfast sets you up for the day, and the baked aubergines, stuffed peppers and tragana suppers round it off perfectly
  • You could not feel better cared for: Omer and Charlotte offer fresh elderflower juice on arrival, all manner of sightseeing advice, and personal introductions to Sirince's most trustworthy shopkeepers
  • The Clockmakers cottage can be booked exclusively or by the suite; allowing flexibility

Lows

  • Some cruise-boat coaches visit Sirince for lunch and souvenir-hunting, but mornings and evenings are all yours
  • The lanes round here are donkey-sized, not for the fainthearted and you can't drive to the front door
  • Rooms are snug and a bit wonky, but that's part of their charm (and of the strict preservation laws)
  • This is village living: no swimming pools, high-tech kitchens or TVs, but you do get WiFi, CDs and books

Best time to go

Spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October) are ideal for, respectively, wild flowers and leafy hillsides, and warm seas without the crowds. Summer is also quite pleasant up here (500m altitude), though you do get more day trippers. And don't rule out winter: all houses have heating.

If you do come in winter, try and coincide with the January camel wrestling competition (no kidding) in Ephesus' ancient theatre: after processing through Selcuk to musical accompaniment, pairs of ceremonially decorated male camels wrestle for a female in heat!

Our top tips

Stay for anything from 3 days to a week, depending on whether you just want to visit Ephesus (allow the best part of a day for this, plus a day of leisure in and around Sirince), or to explore the area in depth.

Great for...

Eco
Family
Foodie
Great Outdoors
  • Boutique Cottages
  • 4 cottages
  • Seasonal meals + basic self-catering
  • All ages welcome
  • Open all year
  • Pool
  • Spa Treatments
  • Beach Nearby
  • Pet Friendly
  • Disabled Access
  • Car recommended
  • Parking
  • Restaurants Nearby
  • WiFi
  • Air Conditioning
  • Guest Lounge
  • Terrace
  • Garden
  • Gym
  • Daily Maid Service
  • Towels & Bedlinen
  • Cooking lessons
Room:

Rooms

Fig, a stone's throw above the terrace café, has 2 bedrooms and 4 handsome shuttered windows looking out over the town. You enter via a private, fig-shaded terrace (set on 2 levels) and inside there’s a lovely ground-floor living-dining room with kitchenette (the smallest of all the houses). Leading off it, the bathroom is a good size with a claw-footed tub and a beautiful marble basin.

Olive is a 2-bedroom house is next to the main terrace (available winter only). Inside, a well-equipped kitchen and cosy sitting room offer thick stone walls and a hearty fireplace. The master bedroom has a grand four-poster bed, but the second bedroom is small, so we’d say it’s best for couples. The bathroom is downstairs, and features a limestone-faced wet room and unexpected corner tub and lions-head spout.

Clockmakers cottage, next to Olive, can be rented exclusively or by floor. Upstairs is the Harem Suite, which has a generous bedroom with sliding doors to the bathroom - gorgeous claw-foot tub. It has no cooking facilities but there is a small roof terrace. Downstairs the open-plan Hamam Suite features a large bedroom with steps up to a kitchen area, and a separate marble shower room.

Grapevine, a restored 19th-century house with far-reaching views, is new since we visited. It has two double bedrooms, both with four-poster beds and ensuite bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a living room which can be converted into a third double bedroom, also with its own ensuite. Lovely original features flow throughout the house, incorporating recycled Anatolian doors and oak antique floorboards. Furnishings include contemporary pieces, antique rugs and local arts and crafts.

Features include:

  • WiFi

Eating

Sitting down at the candlelit terrace table for dinner, with the sun setting behind an amphitheatre of tiled townhouses, and a gleaming spread of painted ceramic plates in the foreground, we knew that self-catering had gone out of the window. Aysel, the smiling magicienne of the kitchen, lifted the lids and - hey presto! We were assailed by delicious wafts of haloumi salad with pomegranate dressing, stuffed peppers, samphire, butter beans with tomato, fresh tzatziki and local bread (baked in the village). The beauty of mezze is that even if there's one dish you don't like, there are 5 you will (but, since they discuss menus with you, that's unlikely). Just remember to request dinner a day in advance.

Breakfast fresh and savoury - nothing fancy, just carefully sliced tomatoes and cucumbers sprinkled with oregano, crumbly cökelek cheese, ramekins of olives and jam, warm corn bread and brioches, plus Aysel's irresistible menemen (scrambled eggs with pepper and tomato). If that doesn't fuel you through Ephesus, nothing will.

Each cottage does have a kitchen, but given the terrace café’s delicious offerings (in season), we ended up preparing little more than the occasional coffee and snack. Note that the Harem suite lacks any cooking facilities, Clockmakers has no indoor dining area, and Fig only has a small kitchenette, but other than that all houses have well-equipped kitchens for when culinary inspiration does strikes.

If you fancy eating out, Sirince has lots of restaurants, from the pretty terrace of Ocakbasi to the grander Artemis, housed in an old school on the edge of the village. Ask Charlotte and Omer for their latest recommendations.

Features include:

  • Bar
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner by arrangement
  • Restaurants nearby
  • Vegetarian options
Eating:
Activity: from pixabay, no credit required

Activities

  • Ephesus is what you've probably come for, and it's worth every mile of the journey: a huge rambling ruin of a 2500-year-old city which once stood on the seashore, boasting a huge theatre, the famous Roman Celsus library façade, fabulous villa mosaics, and countless temples, statues and monumental gates. Allow at least half a day
  • The Magnesia ruins are smaller and a bit further away, but still fascinating and much quieter
  • The nearest decent beach is at Pamucak, 5km beyond Ephesus - sandy, shallow and child-friendly, with drinks, snacks and showers available at the Dereli campsite
  • But, if you have the energy, it's worth driving the extra 45 minutes to Dilek peninsula and national park, which has 4 secluded, pebbly beaches and signed hiking trails through dense pine forests and across a mini-canyon
  • In and around Sirince, you can take a cooking lesson, go pony trekking, take a ride on a tractor, follow footpaths past friendly farmers, taste fruit liqueurs and browse beautiful ceramics
  • Midway from Sirince to Ephesus is the town of Selcuk: stop to visit the 6th-century basilica of St. John the Apostle, the museum (if you're keen), and the storks nesting on telegraph poles
  • Nearby is House of the Virgin Mary, a popular pilgrimage for devout Christians and Muslims alike

Activities on site or nearby include:

  • Cooking classes
  • Hiking
  • Horse riding
  • Sailing
  • Shopping / markets
  • Snorkelling
  • Swimming
  • Traditional cultures
  • Windsurfing

Kids

Children are welcome; Turkey is a very child friendly and there is a very safe beach at Pamucak (25km).

Best for:

Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

Olive and Fig would suit a couple with 1 or 2 children, while Grapevine and Clockmakers (exclusive rental), could take 3 or even 4 children at a squeeze. The Harem Suite can fit an extra child.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

Baby equipment:

Baby cot available on request

Remember  baby and child equipment may be limited or need pre-booking

Families Should Know:

There is 1 cot available but bear in mind that the houses are not really toddler-proof: no doors on the stairs, some stone edges etc.

Kid Friendly:

Location

The houses are in the small town of Sirince, which is 7km uphill from the market town of Selcuk. It's 10km from Ephesus and 80km from Izmir.

By Air:
Fly into Izmir Airport (90km), Bodrum-Milas Airport (140km) or, if it's part of a longer tour, you could fly into Dalaman (250km) or the Greek island of Samos (40km plus boat trip).

From the airport
You'll almost certainly want to hire a car for the duration of your stay (n.b. you can't take hire cars from Greece to Turkey). Alternatively, it's possible to book a transfer through the owners, and then to use the Selcuk-Sirince dolmus (minibus) for any local transport, or of course taxis.

Detailed directions will be provided when you book through i-escape.

More on getting to Turkey and getting around

Airports:

  • Izmir Adnan Menderes 90.0 km ADB
  • Bodrum Imsik 140.0 km BXN

Other:

  • Beach 12.0 km
  • Shops 0.1 km
  • Restaurant 0.1 km

Our guests' ratings...

Based on 6 independent reviews from i-escape guests

9/10
Room
9/10
Food
9/10
Service
9/10
Value
9/10
Overall

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Rates for Terrace Houses

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