Enjoying a Warm Fall Day in Sığacık

Since returning from our trip to southeastern Turkey, we’ve not done much that was footprint worthy … until today when we joined Aylin and Murat, and Deniz, on an outing to Sığacık & Urla.

Sığacık is a seaside neighborhood in İzmir’s Seferihisar district … not far from the ruins of the ancient Ionian city of Teos. Having been to the ruins on a previous trip to Turkey, we skipped them this time and wandered around town instead.

This quaint little neighborhood used to be little more than a fisherman’s village. After Seferihisar joined the Cittaslow movement — inspired by the slow food movement that includes improving the quality of life by slowing down the pace — Sığacık became a popular place to visit … it’s narrow, cobblestone streets lined with boutiques and cafés, and street vendors hawking handicrafts and homemade foods. It’s a fun place that we’ve visited many times over the years.

Arriving mid-morning, we set off on a stroll that was all the more enjoyable because the usual crowds were lacking … partially due to the pandemic … partially due to our timing.

It was still too early for lunch when we finished our meandering walk here, so we headed to Urla, a nearby town to sate our tummies. As quiet as Sığacık was, Urla was the opposite. The waterfront was packed and none of our favorite restaurants were able to accommodate us without reservations or long periods of wait time. We would have tried a new place, but they too were packed.

After a stroll along the waterfront promenade, and beverages at one of the waterfront cafés, we drove into Urla proper. Here, another favorite restaurant — Beğendik Café — was able to accommodate us … good food as always. We were so hungry, however, that I neglected to take any photos … oops!Read more