Şirince is a popular tourist destination. This once Greek town is perched on a hill near Selçuk and famous for its wine and olive oil. It is such a pretty town with its stone cobbled streets and souvenir shops. It is about 8 km from Selçuk in the Izmir province.

Try and avoid Sirince at weekends or peak holiday times. It is a busy place and parking is outside the village so you will need to do some walking. Şirin in English translates as cute, and cute it certainly is. This Turkish-Greek mix has given it a flavour of its own. Surprisingly, in times gone by it is thought to have been called Çirkince which means ugly!

The lovely two storey stone houses and the surrounding countryside enhance the experience and the small shops, restaurants and souvenir stalls all contribute to making this such a fascinating place. This is clearly not your average Turkish country village. It thrives on tourism and everything is geared up to selling products and helping you part with your money.

That said, it is a very nice place to spend a couple of hours.