"Selcuk: A Lovely Place" Selcuk by JohnniOmani

Selcuk has to be one of the most relaxed and friendly places in all of Turkey. It is near some fantastic sites and it attracts backpackers from all over the world and for good reason. There are quality and cheap pensions, hostels, hotels, cheap restaurants, friendly locals making this place (despite being touristy) a great place to relax for a few days. It makes you feel like you are at home and you will probably stay longer than you originally planned. There are some great hikes and bicycle rides that can be done on its door step and with Ephesus nearby there is no reason not to visit this quiet and cosy place. Five days later, I reluctantly moved onto Antalya. Great place :)

Theatre

Ephesus is the best-preserved classical city on the Mediterranean,and perhaps the best place in the world to get the feeling for what life was like in Roman times. The city itself was once the second largest city in the Empire and it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The history is overwhelming and legend has it that the Virgin Mary, accompanied by St. Paul, came to Ephesus at the end of her life and there is a small chapel now stand in honour and in memory of her. St. John is said to have lived the last years of his life here and after his death, a shrine was located over his grave. Ephesus is difficult to summarize so you have to go and experience it for yourself. Great stuff :)

a much needed break (near the top)

Besides the history surrounding the area, Selcuk is worth-seeing with the places of superb natural beauty surrounding the town. The village “Sirince” is the one that attracts every visitors with its spectacular view from a mountain and it can be easily reached by cycle. The rides to the surrounded hills are enjoyable (but may kill you like they did to me!!) and well worth the effort. The hills are very pretty and if you do bike to the church and Marys site then prepare yourself for an up hill struggle no pun intended. After 3 hours of biking, I showed up at the gates looking like I ran a 10km marathon but the guard realized I biked the 8km in the 35 degree heat (I kept pushing thinking to myself it has to be near while tour buses beaped and waved! ) and he let me enter for free. Overall, I laugh at the experience now and I highly recommend the journey but do it in the spring :)

• Pros:Pensions, vegetable/fruit markets, restaurants and locals
• Cons:hot in the summer and touristy
• In a nutshell:Loved it