It grew over the years with no discernible plan or logic: three village houses, two inns of five rooms each, seven cottages, a tower, a hamam, a pool in white marble, several hundred fruit trees. No two units are quite alike.
We are at the very top of Şirince, away from the tourist bustle of the village. Our grounds go on and on: hills, slopes, streams, groves, hundreds of fruit trees, vegetable gardens, a hidden swimming pool, a dark cistern, an ancient tower, and houses you would think had stood there for centuries.
Frescoes, a library, reception and the restaurant; the view over the village rooftops.
Larger rooms, two with a fireplace, beside the tower; the valley and the gardens.
The upper property: hills, ravines, ponds, semi-inaccessible nooks. Seven stone cottages, and the pool in a grove.
Platform Bed House, Stone House, Terrace House, and the Hen House, which really was the chicken coop.
A hamam that commands all of Şirince; a tower you may climb for free; a marble pool of mountain water.
Having traveled a lot, we detest ‘tourist food’. The olive oil and vegetables come from our own gardens; the wines are among the finest privately made in the country. Breakfast is served until one o’clock, and is designed to defeat your diet.
And we make good filter coffee, a rarity in Turkey.
As a rule I have never employed professional cooks, and prefer to raise my kitchen staff from the talented women of our village.Müjde Tönbekici
One or two hours, five dishes, dinner on the terrace afterwards. At least four of you.
The workshop ⟶Prepared with full fidelity to its original spirit: elderflower sherbet to begin, bean fritters from the Empire’s first printed cookbook, a stuffed melon from the stone oven, rose ice cream, and the honey-and-vinegar sherbet Rumi is said to have drunk every day.
The menu, with its history ⟶
The village
An old Greek village, its architecture – sort of – intact, among vineyards and forested hills. Tourism has turned the main street into souvenir-alley; we are high enough on the hill to stay almost unaffected.
12 km
Possibly the top ancient site and sight in Turkey. Not to be missed. But our guests fall in deeper love with Priene and the Temple of Apollo at Didyma.
2 km
The Mathematics Village and the Theater Madrasa, two of Turkey’s most original educational institutions, designed and built by Sevan Nişanyan.
Inspired by the ancient Roman pools. Mountain water: cold in the morning, warmer through the day. Closes near the end of October.
An old Greek village, but the domed, tiled and marble-clad bath is definitely Turkish. Large, private, overheated. In the evening, the cocktail bar.
But sorry, we don’t employ professional attendants.
Built in the course of a long and painful battle with bureaucratic shortsightedness. Climb it for the valley view, free of charge, or order a private dinner in fortified solitude.
Their daughter. Studied hospitality in Switzerland; married to Kaan; one young child.
Co-author of the Little Hotel Book. The kitchen and the herb garden are hers.
Linguist, architect of sorts, political troublemaker. Co-author of the Little Hotel Book; now in exile.
Most of our team have been with us for 20 years. They have known İris since her school days; to them she is still little İris.