Welcome to a ‘Three S – miniseries.’ Over the next three months you shall be taken on three excursions perfectly manageable from Kuşadası and as if by coincidence all destinations have a capital ‘S’ as first letter:
Samos, Seferihisar and Selçuk. All locations will have been visited recently by your friendly columnist ticking off the logistics so that you can relax and pack your toothbrush or perhaps a full overnight bag as all ‘Three S’ merit much more than just a whirlwind stopover.
Thus said, off we went earlier this May – off to Seferihisar and its fine coastal neighbourhood of Sığacık. Since 2009 the town is part of the ever-growing Slow Cities network or ‘Citta Slow’ in Italian as this is the country where it all began. Here’s the details:
When Paolo Saturnini, the former mayor of Greve a small town in Italy’s Tuscany region decided back in the year of 1999 that it is time to rethink the way his townsfolk go about their everyday life and how to improve exactly the latter, he unwittingly kick started what would soon become a nationwide movement – enter the concept behind ‘Citta Slow’. Then word spread and spread fast and today just over two decades later 281 further towns in 31 more countries including 21 in Türkiye joined forces to focus on ‘quality’ in a wide variety of areas. It covers in particular ‘slow food’ based on regionally sourced ingredients prepared according to a combination between tradition and nouvelle cuisine or in other terms, eco-gastronomy. It features local artists and gives them a platform to showcase their works. Then there are the issues such as how to make our neighbourhoods greener and how to reduce traffic – a topic that will feature prominently in my introduction toSığacık. There are cultural events and incentives for residents to open up their very own micro-businesses.
Hence the idea is not only revamping ones’ town for outside eyes and guests but to have the entire population benefit in the long run. Think culture, environment, nature trails… everything the opposite of and from mass tourism. Then there is Teos Antik Kent with amazing historical artifacts including its very own acropolis and overlooking a lush green countryside. It is contagious being here, you just do not want to leave…
Meet Ali Bey and The Captain
You must imagine Sığacık in a sense of being transported back in time on the one side of town and lifted into the future on the other side. Think the Castle area which has been transformed into a cobweb of beautiful colourful narrow lanes where one restaurant or bar or tea house happily sits next to each other only interspersed with boutique hotels and pensions and shops selling traditional or perhaps more trendy items. But as I mentioned above here you feel calm and happy the moment you step off the minibus, you enter a high-quality of life zone so to speak where stress is an unknown word. What strikes visitors as so positive is the absence of any chain restaurants or globally known coffee-shops – the Citta Slow concept favours local entrepreneurs and local food and beverages as much as possible. Here you will not find any rip-off places so common elsewhere, no hassling on the pavement outside bars or restaurants either.
Yet the town has its very own marina, too, and we talk serious boating capacities here. But it perfectly blends in with the old part of town, actually the old part of town is as much a draw for visitors as is the marina and the more modern looking eateries adjacent to it. There is no unhealthy competition between old and new – a magic formula seems to have been found.
But what would a visit to Sığacık be without meeting the locals? Let me briefly introduce you to Ali Kuter and his close friend, locally only referred to as The Captain. The Captain bikes all across town (indeed, biking is possible here and no life threatening endeavor) and operates a fresh fruit and vegetables stall on the waterfront. Then he told me he was a seafarer as well hence his nickname although one might suspect that nickname is due to his captain’s hat, he proudly wears each day. The conversation went on and then he told me something quite remarkably: in the old part of town people still pause in their ways and greet each other, saying ‘merhaba’. He said we do not have any human robots over here. He said he would not like the BMW type of guests, fair enough. And he has a point, if you are looking for posher aka Rolex – places you would best be advised to drop this destination from your list. But it appears as if more and more people and in particular from the nearby metropolis Izmir agree with The Captain – in the past local folk would head to Izmir for shopping or leisure pursuits, now the exact opposite people movement occurs, city people miss the more relaxed, perhaps even ‘quality of life’ and head over here.
Ali Kuter has his own version of a boutique hotel, consisting of exactly one apartment with two bedrooms, ideal for couples or small families. In 2013 he started to renovate an old house with the back wall being the old castle wall; yes indeed, all along the castle wall old houses were renovated to allow business to return to the area but in a style which does not compromise the former glory of the neighbourhood. He has a simply marvelous antique and memorabilia shop (newspapers from early in the 20th century, books, records, everything really…) as well including an old gramophone he happily showed me and guess what, it still spins! Then he underlined same as The Captain that over here no big bus companies drop off foreign guests spending only an hour in town but not spending any money or not even taking a look at local shops or restaurants. Ali Bey told me that people who come here have made a studied choice and arrive not by accident or because a coach operator collects them from the cruise ship yet avoiding all town tradespeople often even stopping only at nearby outlet centres or shopping malls. Here, everything is different he concluded, in a positive sense.
How to get there
Nothing could be easier as we have a direct minibus service from our own otogar to Seferihisar. They run from early in the morning until just before 7 p.m. more or less every hour. The 80 kilometres distance takes approximately seventy-five minutes. Once in Seferihisar and assuming you want to head straight to Sığacık you need to hop on a second, local minibus with an onward journey of not more than ten to fifteen minutes. Just tell the driver of the initial minibus where you want to go, you may change at the otogar or do it as the locals do, at the Migros interjunction 😊.
As minibus fares may change at short notice, please inquire at the otogar but rest assured they will not break your bank. As written above it is a widely pedestrianized location and even the beach can be reached on foot; however, the Seferihisar minibus has Akkum Beach as its final destination, too. Expect just over 100 TL for a basic full regional meal which might include fish of course, 150 TL for more special dishes. Drinks in the region of 30 TL (one pint). There are good hotels in all categories (including three bigger establishments outside of town) yet what makes the place so special are the countless boutique hotels in the old part of Sığacık. I stayed just off that area and paid 400 TL for a comfortable night’s sleep, more in peak season. More luxurious accommodation around 750 TL and above. Enjoy your trip!
Here are some images of Klaus’s for you to enjoy.
