Rooms

Fig, a stone's throw above the terrace café, has 2 bedrooms and 4 handsome shuttered windows looking out over the town. You enter via a private, fig-shaded terrace (set on 2 levels) and inside there’s a lovely ground-floor living-dining room with kitchenette (the smallest of all the houses). Leading off it, the bathroom is a good size with a claw-footed tub and a beautiful marble basin.

Olive is a 2-bedroom house is next to the main terrace (available winter only). Inside, a well-equipped kitchen and cosy sitting room offer thick stone walls and a hearty fireplace. The master bedroom has a grand four-poster bed, but the second bedroom is small, so we’d say it’s best for couples. The bathroom is downstairs, and features a limestone-faced wet room and unexpected corner tub and lions-head spout.

Clockmakers cottage, next to Olive, can be rented exclusively or by floor. Upstairs is the Harem Suite, which has a generous bedroom with sliding doors to the bathroom - gorgeous claw-foot tub. It has no cooking facilities but there is a small roof terrace. Downstairs the open-plan Hamam Suite features a large bedroom with steps up to a kitchen area, and a separate marble shower room.

Grapevine, a restored 19th-century house with far-reaching views, is new since we visited. It has two double bedrooms, both with four-poster beds and ensuite bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a living room which can be converted into a third double bedroom, also with its own ensuite. Lovely original features flow throughout the house, incorporating recycled Anatolian doors and oak antique floorboards. Furnishings include contemporary pieces, antique rugs and local arts and crafts.

Features include:

• WiFi

Eating

Sitting down at the candlelit terrace table for dinner, with the sun setting behind an amphitheatre of tiled townhouses, and a gleaming spread of painted ceramic plates in the foreground, we knew that self-catering had gone out of the window. Aysel, the smiling magicienne of the kitchen, lifted the lids and - hey presto! We were assailed by delicious wafts of haloumi salad with pomegranate dressing, stuffed peppers, samphire, butter beans with tomato, fresh tzatziki and local bread (baked in the village). The beauty of mezze is that even if there's one dish you don't like, there are 5 you will (but, since they discuss menus with you, that's unlikely). Just remember to request dinner a day in advance.

Breakfast fresh and savoury - nothing fancy, just carefully sliced tomatoes and cucumbers sprinkled with oregano, crumbly cökelek cheese, ramekins of olives and jam, warm corn bread and brioches, plus Aysel's irresistible menemen (scrambled eggs with pepper and tomato). If that doesn't fuel you through Ephesus, nothing will.

Each cottage does have a kitchen, but given the terrace café’s delicious offerings (in season), we ended up preparing little more than the occasional coffee and snack. Note that the Harem suite lacks any cooking facilities, Clockmakers has no indoor dining area, and Fig only has a small kitchenette, but other than that all houses have well-equipped kitchens for when culinary inspiration does strikes.

If you fancy eating out, Sirince has lots of restaurants, from the pretty terrace of Ocakbasi to the grander Artemis, housed in an old school on the edge of the village. Ask Charlotte and Omer for their latest recommendations.

Features include:

• Bar
• Breakfast
• Dinner by arrangement
• Restaurants nearby
• Vegetarian options

Activities

• Ephesus is what you've probably come for, and it's worth every mile of the journey: a huge rambling ruin of a 2500-year-old city which once stood on the seashore, boasting a huge theatre, the famous Roman Celsus library façade, fabulous villa mosaics, and countless temples, statues and monumental gates. Allow at least half a day
  
• The Magnesia ruins are smaller and a bit further away, but still fascinating and much quieter
  
• The nearest decent beach is at Pamucak, 5km beyond Ephesus - sandy, shallow and child-friendly, with drinks, snacks and showers available at the Dereli campsite
  
• But, if you have the energy, it's worth driving the extra 45 minutes to Dilek peninsula and national park, which has 4 secluded, pebbly beaches and signed hiking trails through dense pine forests and across a mini-canyon
  
• In and around Sirince, you can take a cooking lesson, go pony trekking, take a ride on a tractor, follow footpaths past friendly farmers, taste fruit liqueurs and browse beautiful ceramics
  
• Midway from Sirince to Ephesus is the town of Selcuk: stop to visit the 6th-century basilica of St. John the Apostle, the museum (if you're keen), and the storks nesting on telegraph poles
  
• Nearby is House of the Virgin Mary, a popular pilgrimage for devout Christians and Muslims alike

Activities on site or nearby include:

• Cooking classes
• Hiking
• Horse riding
• Sailing
• Shopping / markets
• Snorkelling
• Swimming
• Traditional cultures
• Windsurfing

Kids

Children are welcome; Turkey is a very child friendly and there is a very safe beach at Pamucak (25km).

Best for:

Teens (over 12)

Family friendly accommodation:

Olive and Fig would suit a couple with 1 or 2 children, while Grapevine and Clockmakers (exclusive rental), could take 3 or even 4 children at a squeeze. The Harem Suite can fit an extra child.

Cots Available, Extra Beds Available

For more family-friendly places, see our Kids Collection

Location

The houses are in the small town of Sirince, which is 7km uphill from the market town of Selcuk. It's 10km from Ephesus and 80km from Izmir.

By Air:
Fly into Izmir Airport (90km), Bodrum-Milas Airport (140km) or, if it's part of a longer tour, you could fly into Dalaman (250km) or the Greek island of Samos (40km plus boat trip).

From the airport
You'll almost certainly want to hire a car for the duration of your stay (n.b. you can't take hire cars from Greece to Turkey). Alternatively, it's possible to book a transfer through the owners, and then to use the Selcuk-Sirince dolmus (minibus) for any local transport, or of course taxis.

Detailed directions will be provided when you book through i-escape.

More on getting to Turkey and getting around