The Greek village of Sirinci was on our list today but not before I took in a couple of more landmarks in Selcuk, including the Basilica of St. John and the Isabey Mosque.
I started downtown Selcuk where a mother stork was feeding its 2 babies. There seems to be a stork nest on every corner!
Then I went into the Basilica of St. John which was built between 548 and 565 out of bricks and stone. Like many ancient structures it is currently being worked on to save as much of the Basilica as possible.
Next I headed down the roadway to the Isabey Mosque, built in 1374. I had my scarf with me but I found out there were scarves supplied if I'd forgotten it or didn't have one. It is a simple, peaceful building with an imam (priest) who runs the local gift shop next to the mosque as well as doing the prayers and answering questions. Some of the profits go toward keeping the mosque in good repair. He's quite a sales person and enjoys doing your name in Arabic. His calligraphy is beautiful.
Before I left the peaceful little valley, I stopped by a seamstress shop and ended up buying a couple of cover ups after spending a half hour conversing, mainly with hand waving and nodding!
Shortly after my site seeing I met up with Judy and we headed out to get a dolmuses (pronounced dolmoosh) aka mini bus that would take us up to Sirinci. The schedule is supposedly every 20 minutes, ....give or take 15 or 20 minutes! There is normally no rush in this part of Turkey so we sat on a bench and waited. Judy is slowing down too, for those who know her!
The townsite of Sirinci is at the end of a very twisty, winding highway, set amongst olive, orange, and fig trees. The area also has grapes but the quality of wine being produced is an ongoing question!
The village, built in the 15th century, has some very interesting history. It was a Greek village until 1923 when the Greeks and Turks exchanged Greek Orthodox inhabitants of Sirinci for Turkish Muslim inhabitants of Greece.
It is very much like a Greek village with the small whitewashed homes and cobbled, twisty lanes. There is a daily market that sells anything including olive soaps and skin products as well as lots of neat little restaurants.
Judy tried 2 new dishes that she had never had before, squash blossoms filled with rice and chocolate pancakes. We also had her favourite dish, hand made filled pasta pinches (only way I can describe them) called manti. The dessert was made by a lady in the village and brought to the restaurant.
The bill was presented in a treasure box as some of the Turks still don't like to put money matters out in public.
After our supper I did some exploring in the twisty little laneways. It wasn't long before I was lost! Eventually I found my way back and after finishing our shopping we headed into Selcuk once again.
I started downtown Selcuk where a mother stork was feeding its 2 babies. There seems to be a stork nest on every corner!
Then I went into the Basilica of St. John which was built between 548 and 565 out of bricks and stone. Like many ancient structures it is currently being worked on to save as much of the Basilica as possible.
Next I headed down the roadway to the Isabey Mosque, built in 1374. I had my scarf with me but I found out there were scarves supplied if I'd forgotten it or didn't have one. It is a simple, peaceful building with an imam (priest) who runs the local gift shop next to the mosque as well as doing the prayers and answering questions. Some of the profits go toward keeping the mosque in good repair. He's quite a sales person and enjoys doing your name in Arabic. His calligraphy is beautiful.
Before I left the peaceful little valley, I stopped by a seamstress shop and ended up buying a couple of cover ups after spending a half hour conversing, mainly with hand waving and nodding!
Shortly after my site seeing I met up with Judy and we headed out to get a dolmuses (pronounced dolmoosh) aka mini bus that would take us up to Sirinci. The schedule is supposedly every 20 minutes, ....give or take 15 or 20 minutes! There is normally no rush in this part of Turkey so we sat on a bench and waited. Judy is slowing down too, for those who know her!
The townsite of Sirinci is at the end of a very twisty, winding highway, set amongst olive, orange, and fig trees. The area also has grapes but the quality of wine being produced is an ongoing question!
The village, built in the 15th century, has some very interesting history. It was a Greek village until 1923 when the Greeks and Turks exchanged Greek Orthodox inhabitants of Sirinci for Turkish Muslim inhabitants of Greece.
It is very much like a Greek village with the small whitewashed homes and cobbled, twisty lanes. There is a daily market that sells anything including olive soaps and skin products as well as lots of neat little restaurants.
Judy tried 2 new dishes that she had never had before, squash blossoms filled with rice and chocolate pancakes. We also had her favourite dish, hand made filled pasta pinches (only way I can describe them) called manti. The dessert was made by a lady in the village and brought to the restaurant.
After our supper I did some exploring in the twisty little laneways. It wasn't long before I was lost! Eventually I found my way back and after finishing our shopping we headed into Selcuk once again.
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