Turkey Trot - Mary's House and Basilica of St. John

Turkey Trot - Overview
Turkey Trot - First Class
Turkey Trot - Are We There Yet?
Turkey Trot - Ephesus
Turkey Trot - Mary's House and Basilica of St. John
Turkey Trot - Swissotel Efes
Turkey Trot - Taking the Bus and Priene
Turkey Trot - Putting on the Ritz
Turkey Trot - The Blue Mosque
Turkey Trot - Topkapi Palace
Turkey Trot - Hagia Sophia
Turkey Trot - Carpets and Grand Bazaar
Turkey Trot - Dolmabahçe Palace and Taksim Square
Turkey Trot - Bosphorus Cruise
Turkey Trot - Turning Blu
Turkey Trot - Getting This Turkey Home

After the tour of Ephesus we met up with M and had lunch in the nearby town of Selçuk.  It was interesting because we walked to a display case of uncooked food, pointed at what we wanted and it was then cooked and brought to the table.  Fortunately T and M could translate for us because otherwise we'd have had no idea what we were ordering!  So it made me feel a little adventurous without being worried about getting in too deep because I knew I had my Turkish-speaking safety nets who would keep me from ordering anything I shouldn't.

We said goodbye to M and took off for the House of the Virgin Mary.  Of course nobody knows for sure that Mary lived out her final days here, but it's not out of the question.  As He hung on the cross, Jesus told the Apostle John to take care of his mother.  We know that John spent a good deal of time in this region and did a good bit of writing here.  While the house has been completely rebuilt, there is still a small bit of one of the outside walls - perhaps two feet high - that dates back to the correct time period.

In the early 1800s a bedridden nun in Germany - who had never been to Turkey - began having a series of visions in which she recounted the last days of the life of Christ and details about the life of His mother, Mary.  An author spent five years transcribing the visions the nun reported and he eventually published a book about them.  Posthumously he published another book based on his own notes.  The nun's visions described the house itself and the topography of the area in which the house sat.

Some thirty years after the book was published in 1852, a French priest discovered the remains of a small building on a mountain overlooking the Aegean Sea and the ruins of ancient Ephesus.  He believed it was the house described in the book.  Ten years later two missionaries rediscovered the building and learned it was revered by members of a mountain village who were descended from the Ephesian Christians.  They called the house Panaya Kapulu ("Doorway to the Virgin").

Main Entrance at the House of Mary

The Catholic Church assumed responsibility for acquiring, restoring and preserving the house and surrounding area.  The house has been visited by three popes: Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II in 1979 and Benedict XVI in 2006.  All left memorable items that are on display throughout the small house though sadly, no photography inside is allowed.

Outside the house is a wishing wall where people from all over the world write wishes, prayers or whatever they like, tie it up with a bow and weave it through the netting that lays against the wall.

Wishing Wall at the House of Mary

Our final stop for the day was the Basilica of St. John.  It was constructed by Justinian I in the 6th century and it is believed to house the burial site of the Apostle John.  Only a few portions of walls still stand but it seemed quite large.  It was build of brick and stones and it's believed the columns would have been marble or marble-plated as that strength would be needed to support the weight of the domes.

Citadel wall that surrounds the basilica

Model of the Basilica

Remains of the Basilica of St. John

Directly beneath the altar is a crypt with several rooms, including the one believed to be John.  On the altar is a quote from Psalm 132:14 - This is my resting place forever, here will I dwell.  Yet there is no body in the tomb said to be John's.  Legend has it that Christ made him aware of the day of his death about a week before and when it was his time he entered a cave in the church, a bright light shone and when the light was gone, so was John's life.  When the tomb was opened during Constantine's reign and there was no body, some took it as proof John had ascended to heaven.  While many cities and churches have claimed to have the body (or portions thereof) of other saints, no church or city has ever claimed to have John's.

Baptismal Pool

Basilica Interior

Supposed grave of the Apostle John

Basilica Panorama

It was nice to be able to wander around the remains of the basilica and stop and read about the various parts without having to fight crowds since we had the whole place to ourselves. But after two days of travel we were happy to get back to the hotel and unwind for awhile.