- The House of the Virgin is a church on the plan of a cross
surmounted by a dome. It is almost entirely reconstructed.
It is immersed in the silent green countryside at Panaya
Kapulu, a small locality not far from the ruins of Ephesus.
In the apse there is a statue of the Virgin (placed there
a hundred years ago) and a simple altar. There was once
a kitchen in the small central area which is paved in grey
marble. Excavations brought to light pieces of charcoal
and traces of wood. In the back room, to the south of the
altar, there was a bedroom. There is a fountain near the
house, the Fountain of the Virgin, and its water is said
to have miraculous powers. The house is a place of pilgrimage
for Christians, Orthodox and Catholic, and Muslims (Meryemana
is recognised as a saint by Islam).
- Every year, on August 15th, believers of all three faiths
gather here to celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin. Many
exvotos adorn the House of the Virgin which has been visited
by three Popes: John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II. Traditionally,
the Virgin Mary was thought to have lived in Ephesus for
many years with St. John (from 37 to 48 A.D.) after the
death of Jesus Christ. Some claim that she was even buried
here at the age of sixty-three, though Christians maintain
that she was buried in Jerusalem, on Mount Sion, where there
is now the Church of Dormition. Before reaching the Selçukk
Fortress, you come to the Church of St. John, thought to
be the most important Byzantine building un Ephesus. It
was built by Justinian and Queen Theodora during the sixth
century A.D. on the ruins of a small church erected over
the Tomb of St. John who died at Ephesus in 100 A.D. At
a later stage thick walls were built around the basilica
with twenty towers and three gates to defend it from Arab
attacks.
- When Ephesus was conquered by the Selçuks in 1330
it was first transformed into a mosque and then into a bazaar.
Excavations of the basilica began in 1926 and are still
being undertaken. The entrance is through the Gate of Persecution,
surmounted by two imposing towers, which leads into a courtyard
and then into the remains of the church. The church was
forty metres wide and one hundred and ten metres long, and
constructed on the pattern of the cross. There are three
naves covered by domes supported by brick and marble pilasters.
The Saint's tomb is above the crypt facing the apse. The
Baptistery was octagonal and faced with marble, and the
font was embellished with arches and columns.
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