Another bit of a drive today (120 miles) - Turkey is a big country, bigger than Texas (yes, there are some things bigger than Texas).
"Şirince's population is 456 (2022). The area around the village has history dating back to the Hellenistic period (323–31 BC). Pottery finds indicate the presence of seven villages and nine farmsteads in the area dating back to ancient and later medieval times. Today the village prospers through agriculture (olive oil, peaches, wine) and tourism. It is a well protected, and a rare and attractive example of preserved Ottoman Christian architecture.
Şirince garnered international fame when tourists flocked to the village in December 2012 to witness the Mayan-predicted Apocalypse, as New Age mystics believed its "positive energy" would aid in weathering the catastrophe."
Here's the view from our lodging:
On our balcony we grab a mid-afternoon snack to tide us over to dinner.
That's our lodge on the hill - the owner described that the hills above had been populated with homes as well, but the village shrank with the 1923 forced immigration of Greek Christians.
Past the roof tops are seen the agricultural slopes of the region. The area reminds us of Italy's Tuscany region.
A fabric and wood beam arcade is created in this spot, and then we circle back to a wine house we encountered coming into the village.
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Yes, after driving to the center of town, we continued following the I-phone GPS to here (see below, the photo with the red motorcycle). A very friendly store owner stepped out and asked where we needed to go - Gerri pointed to her phone, and he said this drive is not possible with a car such as ours. We took him up on his offer to drive our car backwards down the hill, and to the recommended parking square in town (about 2 minutes away, with him driving). Then we said, we'll be back to slake our wine thirst.
Photo courtesy of 최선미
Here's the view of the wine house - it's shocking how many different bottles are packed in there - apparently later in the season this village will get swarmed by wine tasters, and the inventory will rotate at a steady pace.
 | The mighty Massey Ferguson, guarded by the farmer's cat. This tractor could have taken us to our hotel.  |
Here's St. John the Baptist church - this late afternoon it was all locked up, oh well, it's still worth visiting.
We're fortunate today, it's very peaceful, prior to the Summer tourist deluge - even the cats and dogs are sharing the news of where the good handouts are going down today. Additionally, this is the type of village where a later arrival has most of the tourist day buses already departed.
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