Once known as Kirkince, the village was built by the Greeks around 800 years ago and since the population exchange in 1924 has since been inhabited by Muslims from Salonica.
The village has a few guest-houses and restaurants, and is popular with foreign and Turkish tourists to experience a taste of traditional village life in a peaceful environment.
This small village 7km through the hills from Selcuk, is attractive for its setting among fruit orchards, old-fashioned stone houses with red tiled roofs, and narrow streets. It is also famous for its traditional bazaar, home-made wine and lace made by the local women.
There is a story that the village was settled by freed Greek slaves who named the village Cirkince (meaning “Ugly” in Turkish) to deter others from following them. The village’s name was changed to Sirince (pronounced shi-rin-jeh and meaning “Pleasant”) in 1926 by the governor of Izmir Province.
Sirince was settled when Ephesus was abandoned in the 15th century but most of what you see today dates from the 19th century.
