Day 8: Sığacık, Turkey

We spent the day in the seaside town of Sığacık, a place for fishing boats and tourists. The high season doesn’t start until June, so almost all of the tourists were Turkish not too plentiful.

Sığacık (and it’s parent city of Seferihisar) are part of the “Slow City” movement known as Cittaslow. It espouses many quality of life improvements you’d want in a modern city: walkability, green spaces, organic food served leisurely, and environmental consciousness. The snail is the Cittaslow mascot.

We certainly adopted the theme. Strolled through the bazaar, sat for drinks, walked on the marina, took a languid Turkish seafood dinner, and finished with drinks into the early morning.

When we booked the trip, we didn’t realize that we’d be in Turkey for Ramadan. If our friend (and gracious tour guide) Zeynep hadn’t mentioned it, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed. Izmir (the province we’re in, and the major metro) was dubbed the “city of infidels” by the right-wing Turkish President Erdoğan, and it’s not surprising, given the number of Turks joining us in food and drink all day. We get along quite well here.