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Ilyastepe Cottages
| Ilyastepe Cottages and Kilisealti Pension will be closed for the winter until March 31, 2008. Nisanyan Inn and the Houses are open as always. |
 Ilyastepe is a beautiful farming property just outside the village of Sirince. It is a steep piece of land with a couple of streams running through it. About half of it is planted with lavender. The rest has some old fig trees, olives, walnuts, a few rows of cherries, some mulberries and apricots, and a vineyard of about 1000 stocks. They overlook a wild valley where the only other building in sight is the ruin of an old Greek chapel. The hills of Sirince look from a distance like a scene of Tuscany in the background of a Leonardo painting.
Old house, no mod cons
Five old stone cottages are clustered together at the far end of Ilyastepe. They are built pretty much in the way houses were built here since before Roman times. They have 60-cm (24 in) stone walls, and a thick layer of earth underneath the roof tiles to ensure cool interiors in summer. We fitted a bathroom in each. We toyed with the idea of not putting in electricity at all, but, sadly, had to yield to the times on this point. Air-con and TV are of course out of the question. For hot water you have to light a wood stove. (It heats the bathwater in 20 minutes. And we'll light it for you if you are not good with matches.)
A swimming pool in white marble lies quietly at one corner of the extensive garden.
 Donkey service
Each cottage sleeps 2 to 4. There is a common kitchen that guests can use as they like, a domed oven where we sometimes bake bread or pizza, and a little "village square" where breakfast is served daily. Nisanyan Inn is 7 minutes away on foot. You can walk there to use the library, the computer or the restaurant. In fact we urge guests to park their car at the Inn and walk to Ilyastepe. Your luggage will naturally be carried - either by motorcycle, or else on the back of our donkey. She is called Türkan Soray like the famous movie star who also has very large eyes.
Activities
The place has such unearthly beauty that any "activity" will feel more like distraction. There is of course the pool. There are enough varieties of fruit trees that you'll find something to pick at all times of the year. Or you can walk through the bush to find the mediaeval water arch at the bottom of the valley.
Then again, there is Ephesus 10 km (6 miles) down the way.
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Muslim tradition also reveres Elijah, who is called Ilyas in Turkish. He is regarded as one of only two men who were granted the secret of immortality. He is invoked as a granter of wishes and multiplier of livestock. His feast is celebrated with campfires on the night between the 5th and 6th of May.