This is the village the Greek author Dido Sotiriou mentioned in her book; Farewell Anatolia: “If there is a heaven on earth,” she wrote, “Our very own Kırkıca (Şirince) must surely be a part of it.”

The Turkish author Sabahattin Ali also fell inlove with the village during his four day-stay. He referred to Şirince as the “Magical hamlet” in one of his stories.

Who wouldn’t want to see such a place that had been compared to heaven by masters of literature.

When you visit Ephesus, Mount Bulbul and the House of Virgin Mary in Selçuk, head East at the crossroad, to a lovely uphill road amongst lush trees, which, after a 10 minute drive, will take you to a little village, so beautiful with its surroundings that you might think you have arrived in heaven. The magnificent drive surrounded by mandarin and olive trees ends with the extraordinary sight of traditional Greek houses and the mesmerising scent of grapes crushed to make wine.

WELCOME TO ŞİRİNCE

Şirince is an exchange village, 8 km to the east of Selçuk, which belonged to Orthodox Greek population until 1922. Aside from a few Turkish officials living there, the whole town used to be Greek, therefore a strong Greek cultural and traditional imprint exists in the atmosphere. The majority of houses are older than a century, you can easily forget the times you live in when walking around on the beautiful cobble- stoned alleys between those well maintained houses and lush green trees. The air is crisp and the energy is undeniable.

Many ancient sources refer to Şirince as The Mountain Ephesus, therefore it is believed that the town has existed far into the past. There are various stories about how it was founded.

One of thestories is that a group of slaves to the feudal lord in the period of principalities, upon receiving their freedom, ask for a piece of land to settle in and they mntion the area that is now Şirince. The lord asks them if the area is nice and they reply with, “A little eye sore, (“çirkince” in Turkish)” and thus the village was named. In time, the word Çirkince (eye sore) was changed to Şirince (cute).

Çirkince was a Greek Ottoman village with its 1800 houses in the 19th century and the official language was Turkish. The villagers being non-Turk subjects of the empire, used to pay feudal taxes to the Ottoman government and they lived a pretty secluded and peaceful life.

When the Greek exiles arrived in the village following 1910, they started provoking people to rise up against the government and some minor uprises occured during the Balkan Wars. Following the Ottoman Empire’sinvolvement with the Great War in 1914, young men of Çirkince were recruited as the Labour Battalion but many escaped to the mountains to fight the Ottoman army as guerillas and some took refuge in Greece. In 1918, when the war ended, those who survived returned to their village.

The Greek army invaded Izmir on 15th May 1919 and marched on to take Çirkince, the townsfolk greeted them with joy.Many volunteered to take part in the Greek army like all the other Greek subjects from all over the region. The recruitsgathered in Urla, Kokluca, Bornova and Kuşadası to form battalions to fight the Turks.

However the war, which has been named the Turkish Independence War, was won by the Turks and the Greek population in the western area fled to Greece.

Aside from a handful of elders, Kırkıca became a deserted town until finally, after the exile agreement with Greece in 1924, Turks from Greek towns were brought in to settle.

The İzmir governor Kazım Dirik Pasha visited Çirkince after the foundation of the Turkish Republic and the village’s only teacher greeted him with an anthem he had composed.The governor was so impressed that he offered the town’s name to be changed to Şirince (cute). It’s been said that the governor stated that the village was too beautiful to be referred as an eye sore.

The first thing to attract your attention inthe village is its well maintained traditional architecture. There are about 200 Greek style houses on the tiered hillside.

Hagia Irini and Hagia Dimitri are the two historic churches in the village and you will find many coffee houses, fountaims and bakers lining up the streets. The little grade school building is in a spot where you can observe the full view of the town, with its beautiful surroundings.

The little bazaar of the village has many wine tasting houses as the fruit wines of the region are world famous. Stalls in the market offer hand made soap, olive oil, molasses, honey, jam, souvenirs and clothes.

One of the best experiences in Şirince is the food. When you’re hungry, pick one of the cute restaurants in the traditional houses and taste the wonderful examples of the Aegean and Mediterranean cuisine.

If you want to spend the night in this magical atmosphre, there are many boutique hotels that offer the unique Anatolian hospitality. Hiking to Kayserkaya or visiting Nesin Mathematics Village are also popular activities amongst visitors.

Şirince is a beautiful spot to visit all year long. In summer, don’t forget to buy some peaches, they are famous for a reason and if you’re visiting in winter, mandarins should be on your list aside from all the wine and olive oil. The village square has a popular coffee spot where you can dring Turkish coffee brewed on hot sand. It’s a nice spot to rest after a day of walking around and shopping, relishing the extraordinary experience.