Ephesus Archaeological SiteStory N° 52
Ephesus & Şirince — Ancient Aegean
Three days where the Aegean keeps its oldest stories — the Library of Celsus at golden hour, a hilltop Greek village pouring mulberry wine, and the marble bones of a Roman capital you can walk alone after the tour buses leave.
The itinerary.
3 days · 16 stops
Friday
Day One
İzmir airport to Şirince via Selçuk — settle into a restored Greek stone house up the hill, then drop into Ephesus for late afternoon when the bus crowds drain and the marble turns honey.
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İzmir Adnan Menderes → Şirince transfer
Private transfer, 55 min, or İzbat suburban train ADB → Selçuk (65 min) + 10 min taxi up to Şirince. The drive cuts through olive groves and tobacco fields — Aegean Anatolia on first contact.
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Nişanyan Houses
Restored 19th-century Greek Orthodox village houses, terraced into the hill above Şirince. Stone walls, copper basins, fig trees in every courtyard. Each cottage is private — no reception, the host hands you a key and a map. nisanyanhouses.com
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Ephesus Archaeological Site — late entry
Open until 19:00 in summer, 17:00 in shoulder season — arrive after 16:00 and most cruise tours are gone. Walk down through Curetes Street, past Hadrian's Temple and the Terrace Houses, finishing at the Library of Celsus as the limestone goes gold. The Terrace Houses are worth the extra ticket — Roman frescoes still on the walls. muze.gov.tr
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Library of Celsus
Built AD 117 as a tomb-monument for the senator's father, the two-story façade with its niches for Wisdom, Knowledge, Intelligence and Virtue is the photograph people come for. Stand at the base of the steps at sundown — the column shadows fall right across the agora.
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Artemis Restaurant, Şirince
Set in a 1908 schoolhouse with a courtyard under grapevines. Aegean mezze (deniz börülcesi, şevketi bostan), grilled lamb, and the village's own fruit wines by the carafe — mulberry first, then pomegranate. artemisrestaurant.com
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Hotel
Nişanyan Houses, Şirince nisanyanhouses.com
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Getting around
- İzmir ADB airport → Şirince: private car (55 min) or İzbat train + Selçuk taxi (75 min).
- Şirince ↔ Ephesus: 12 km, 15 min by taxi or shared minibus.
Saturday
Day Two
A slow Şirince day — Greek Orthodox church, organic village market, hilltop wine cellars, then the quiet pilgrim road to the House of the Virgin Mary above the valley.
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Şirince village walk + morning market
Cobbled lanes, white houses with red shutters, courtyards spilling jasmine. The morning market sets up around the lower square — village jams (fig, quince, rose petal), dried oregano, olive oil pressed three valleys over, hand-loomed cotton.
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Church of St. John the Baptist (Aziz Yahya Kilisesi)
1839 stone church at the top of the village — built by the Greek Orthodox community before the 1923 population exchange. Faded blue frescoes still on the apse. The villagers below took over Şirince's empty Greek houses and kept the church standing.
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Şirince Şarapları wine tasting
Village fruit-wine cellars line the main street — most offer a 6-glass tasting (mulberry, pomegranate, blackberry, strawberry, peach, quince). Not classical vinifera; sweeter, lower alcohol, made the way Anatolian Greeks made them for a thousand years.
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Köyüm Şirince — lunch
Family-run, no menu — what came out of the village garden that morning. Gözleme with wild herbs, keskek (wheat-and-lamb porridge from Aegean Anatolia, UNESCO-listed), oven-baked aubergine.
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House of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana Evi)
On Mount Koressos above Ephesus — the small stone chapel where Catholic and Orthodox tradition places Mary's last years, kept by an Anatolian Greek nun's visions in the 19th century and confirmed by three Popes since. Quiet pilgrim site, a wishing wall tied with thousands of cloth ribbons, a spring at the back. hzmeryemanaevi.com
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Sunset on the Nişanyan terrace
Hike up to the top of the village — there's an open hilltop above Nişanyan with a long view over the Selçuk plain to the Aegean. Bring a bottle from the cellar tastings.
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Hotel
Nişanyan Houses, Şirince nisanyanhouses.com
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Getting around
- Şirince ↔ House of Virgin Mary: 25 min by taxi (round trip with wait), or rent a car for the day from Selçuk.
Sunday
Day Three
Selçuk historical morning — the Ephesus Museum's marble Artemis, the Apostle John's burial church on Ayasuluk Hill, the lone column of one of the Seven Wonders — then back to İzmir for the evening flight.
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Ephesus Museum, Selçuk
Houses the finds from the archaeological site — most importantly the two Artemis statues with their many-tiered chest and animal-relief skirts, plus the bronze runner from the gymnasium and household frescoes lifted from the Terrace Houses. Small museum, two hours is plenty. muze.gov.tr
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Basilica of St. John, Ayasuluk Hill
6th-century Byzantine basilica built by Justinian over the traditional tomb of John the Apostle. Marble columns standing in a cross-shaped plan, the slab over the tomb pilgrim-worn smooth. Same hill holds the Selçuk citadel — climb it for a 360° view of plain, mountain, and the marsh that was once Ephesus's harbor.
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Temple of Artemis
One marble column with a stork's nest on top, standing in a low marsh — what's left of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, four times the size of the Parthenon. Free, often empty, oddly moving.
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Eski Ev, Selçuk — lunch
1880s village house in central Selçuk converted to a slow-food restaurant — Aegean clay-pot dishes, fava bean purée, dolma with sour grape leaves.
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Selçuk → İzmir ADB
İzbat suburban train Selçuk → İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport every hour (~70 min) or private transfer (50 min).
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Hotel
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Getting around
- Şirince → Selçuk: 10 min by taxi.
- Selçuk → İzmir ADB airport: İzbat hourly train (70 min) or private car (50 min).
Location.
Frequently asked
How many days do you need for Ephesus & Şirince — Ancient Aegean?
3 days. The itinerary runs from Friday to Sunday and covers 16 curated stops across 3 days.
How much does Ephesus & Şirince — Ancient Aegean cost?
Mid-range — comfortable lodging with a mix of paid and free experiences.
Where do you stay during Ephesus & Şirince — Ancient Aegean?
Nişanyan Houses, Şirince is the recommended base for the trip; the full hotel list per day is in the itinerary section.
What's included in the Ephesus & Şirince — Ancient Aegean itinerary?
Day-by-day stops at 16 restaurants, museums, viewpoints and landmarks; transportation hints between each leg; and a hotel base in Ephesus Archaeological Site.
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