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Turkey

Izmir

Şirin Cem – Efes Bicycle World loop from Selçuk

Routes

Bike touring routes & trails

Turkey

Izmir

Şirin Cem – Efes Bicycle World loop from Selçuk

Moderate

5.0

(2)

riders

Şirin Cem – Efes Bicycle World loop from Selçuk

01:12

15.6km

390m

Cycling

Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: May 27, 2026

Tips

Includes a segment in which cycling is not permitted

After 15.5 km for 55 m

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

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7.16 km

Şirin Cem

Highlight • Restaurant

Lonely planet’s best restaurant in the village

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7.41 km

Church of Saint Demetrios (Aziz Dimitrios Kilisesi), Şirince

Highlight • Religious Site

Church of Saint Demetrios (tr. Aziz Dimitrios Kilisesi) was built as the second church of the village, after the Church of Saint John the Baptist. Unfortunately, the exact date of its construction is unknown. Most often it is stated that the building was erected in the seventeenth century, and the foundations and basement are even older. The church was given the name of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki who was born around 280 and died around 304-305. He is a martyr and a saint of the Catholic, Orthodox, Coptic, and Armenian Churches.
The earliest written accounts of the life of Demetrios were collected in the 9th century, although there are some earlier pictures of him. There is also a collection of sermons written in Greek, describing the miracles he performed. According to these early accounts, Demetrios was born into a family of pious Christians from Thessaloniki. He is presented as a young man from a senatorial family who died a martyr's death, run through with spears around 306 CE, during the Christian persecutions of Galerius and Diocletian.
The church dedicated to Saint Demetrios in Şirince was the starting point of a five-hour pilgrimage of the faithful to the House of the Mother of God, now known as Meryemana. The procession started on the 15th of August every year, and followed the trail to the House of Mary on the hill of the Nightingales, on the other side of the town of Selçuk, about 15 kilometres west of Şirince.
These pilgimages continued until the 1920s when the Treaty of Lausanne ordered a population exchange between Turkey and Greece. From that moment the village was inhabited by Muslims. The Church of Saint Demetrios and the Church of John the Baptist were abandoned and gradually fell into disrepair. The roof of the Church of Saint Demetrios collapsed, and the general renovation carried out in 2015 restored the church to its former glory.
While visiting the church, it is worth to pay attention to the preserved iconostasis — a decorative wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary. From the vestibule of the church, there is a beautiful view of the part of the village, olive groves, and arable fields.
(turkisharchaeonews.net/city/%C5%9Firince)

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