“Rather Pretty” town Population: 460
Old name: Çirkince, Kırkınca
What would you do if you were living in a little piece of paradise and didn’t want to have to share it with the rest of the world? Well, one rather sneaky possibility would be to give it a name so deceptive that no one would suspect a thing. So it was that the hillside village above Selçuk, which now glories in the moniker Şirince (Rather Pretty), was originally given the name Çirkince (Rather Ugly) by the group of freed Greek slaves who settled there in the 15th century and didn’t want their rural idyll disturbed.
That’s how one story goes anyway, although another suggests that the old name came into being when a man who had been asked about his village described it as ‘rather ugly’. Yet another tall tale suggests that the village was first settled by 40 freed slaves, hence its alternative name of Kırkınca (Forty Town), in reality almost certainly a corruption of Çirkince.
The Greeks left in the 1924 population exchange, their place taken by Turks from around Salonica. Shortly afterwards, an İzmir governor, apparently enthralled by the village march composed by the local school teacher, decreed the name change that risked giving the game away.
Actually, it took a surprisingly long time for outsiders to cotton on to the charms of Şirince – even in the early 1990s it was a rare visitor who ventured into the hills above Şelçuk. But then in the 1990s came first Müjde Tonbekiçi and then her husband Seven Nişanyan who set about restoring many of the village houses and finding them new life as tourist accommodation. These days, the secret is well and truly out and coach-loads of visitors regularly arrive to mob a village full of Safranbolu-style wooden houses clinging to cobbled terraces and begging to be Instagrammed. Most of them were built in the 19th century by villagers who were making a good living from the sale of peaches, grapes, olives, tobacco and figs. Today most have been painstakingly restored by owners who make an equally good living selling lace and fruit wines to visitors.
The pleasures of a visit to Şirince are low-key and aimless, although you can visit the two old Greek churches that have been restored, St John and St Demetrius. There’s also a small local museum inside the Artemis Restaurant.
What if you hate crowds, and don’t fancy being badgered to look at lace or buy a bottle of wine? The best way to appreciate Şirince’s more subtle villagey charms is to book a couple of nights in a boutique hotel inside one of the houses. That way you get to explore the streets in peace once the tour groups have departed for the night.
Its prettiness aside, for most visitors the really great thing about Şirince is its proximity to the remains of Ephesus (Efes), erstwhile capital of the Roman province of Asia Minor.
Drinking
The Artemis Restaurant, housed in what was once the local school, is a popular place to try out the locally-made fruit wines although you’ll see them on sale all round town.
Sleeping
İlyastepe Tel: 0232-898 3208
Kırkınca Pansiyon Tel: 0232-898 3133
Transport info
Şirince is within easy reach of İzmir airport. Many bus companies (and the train from the airport) serve Selçuk, with an hourly dolmuş continuing from Selçuk otogar to Şirince.
Day trip destinations
Nesin Mathematics Village
