Sirince is a stunningly preserved village on the heights above Ephesus. It has white-washed houses and stone houses, amiably paved streets, plenty of restaurants and overall is extremely picturesque. You can easily get there with hourly minibuses that go up and down from Selcuk, a biggish town with lots of shops down the valley.

The Terrace Houses are a set of beautifully done-up stone houses in the heart of the village. We stayed for a week in one of them (Fig House). Each room had a terrific view onto the village and the lush surrounding landscape of hills and olive groves and mandarina trees. The fittings were excellent and comprised beautiful antique furniture, stone fireplaces (with lots of wood for the fire as we were in december) and lots of comfortable chairs. The bathroom was gigantic with an amazing stone basin, the house came with a hi-fi system and some cool cds, and there was a fully equiped kitchen with which the person who welcomed us showed us how to make Turkish tea!

We spent a very refreshing week there. There are lots of walks that you can do around the village, Ephesus and the sea are very near and the village has some interesting shops and a good set of places to eat. We found the Terrace Houses were an excellent choice for having a really good time.

On my 3rd trip to delighful historic village of Sirnce I had the pleasure to stay at Fig House, one of the Terraced Houses. It was a superb location with a fantastic view over the whole village. It was extremely quiet and had the added benefit of being able to drive a car quite near the door (many properties in the village have foot access only). In April the fields were full of brillant poppies and everything looked so fresh. Tried to visit at New Year's but they were full - hope to return in this April.

We have just returned from a relaxing weekend in Sirince where we stayed in the tastefully renovated Grapevine House - be sure to check out the great bathroom and cosy fire place. We were originally attracted by Sirince's close proximity to Efes, a short 20 min ride away. However, we fell in love wth the great views, the wonderful terrace, and the peace and tranquility of this charming stone house. We found the Terrace Houses on the internet and highly recommend a visit.