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Ephesus, for sure, has been the city of the divine female since Cybele worship of the Bronze Age and this tradition continued with the arrival of Christianity. The first time, the narrow road was hair-raising if a coach whizzed around the corner from opposite directions. Thankfully, road conditions improved in later years, and after paying an entrance fee, visitors arrive at the Virgin Mary’s site and car park. Walking past souvenir shops and café, the first landmark is a baptism pool and a seating area for monthly religious services by the Catholic church and the house. The humble appearance of plain stone bricks and small size makes the house seem insignificant. To get to Mount Koressos, where the house is located, visitors can take a short trip from Ephesus.
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Many years after her death a priest read and followed her descriptions and as a result, discovered the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. A day trip from Istanbul to the ancient city of Ephesus and the House of Virgin Mary, nestled in the Solmissos Mountains, offers a mesmerizing dive into the rich tapestry of ancient history and culture. This journey transports you through time, from the bustling streets of modern Istanbul to the quiet solitude of the Virgin Mary’s final resting place and the grandeur of the ancient city of Ephesus. The Virgin Mary’s House has been further substantiated by archeological research.
Private Ephesus Tour
A mere glance at the laws and culture regarding booze reveals much about any Muslim country. During the early days of the Church, Ephesus was the seventh largest city in the Roman Empire, with as many as a half million residents. It was one of the first major cities outside of the Holy Land mentioned in the New Testament, and it served as a missionary base for Paul in Western Asia Minor.
St John in Ephesus
Emmerich, an invalid and stigmatist German nun, was said to have had many visions during the early 19th Century. Imams there are considered civil servants, educated and hired by the Directorate of Religious Affairs (called the Diyanet), which does much to curb potential radicalization of the population. There is a fountain, and a wishing wall, just outside and below the house. Visitors commonly take water from the fountain, and leave their written petitions in one of the many crevices of the wishing wall (a pre-Islamic Turkish tradition).
My tour group stayed for a night in Selçuk, the town containing the ruins of the Basilica of St. John, built over the traditional burial site of the Apostle himself. We were instructed along the way to remain respectfully silent while at the site. A large statue of Our Lady, crowned and with open hands, greeted us near the entrance.
The Sacred Sanctuary
The nun told her visions to a man named Brentano who wrote them in a book. A French clergyman named Gouyet read the book and came to Ephesus where he found a house matching the nun’s descriptions. On June 27, 1891 two Lazarist priests and two Catholic found the small stone house among ruins with a statue of Mother Mary. Anne Catherine Emmerich was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 2004. Anne the nun and the priest had never been to Ephesus and at that time, excavation work had not started so it was not as widely known as it is today, so was it coincidence or the divine truth?
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After that, I went on to purchase an icon and a scented rosary at the souvenir stand, which fortunately took Visa. For two weeks, I myself was numbered among the tourists, having had glimpses of life there. The Meryama was later visited by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, who confirmed its appropriateness as a place of pilgrimage.
He even intended also to remove from the Breviary the lessons which mention Mary's death in Jerusalem but died before carrying out this intention. On July 29, by donkey, three Catholics, one Greek Orthodox and one Muslim finally found the house. Archaeologists identified the ruins of a first-century house, with a church from the fourth century having been built over it. Although the Roman Catholic Church has never confirmed this to be the place of her assumption, three popes have visited, and the Church takes responsibility for running the house through donations and funding.
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The earliest reference to the possibility of St. Mary residing in Ephesus can be traced back to the synodal letter of the Council of Ephesus in 431. This letter mentions the city of Ephesians as the place where John the Theologian and St. Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, lived and were buried. Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion on political grounds as the “King of the Jews” made his family and followers suspicious of the authorities. While some, like Jesus’ brother James, remained in Jerusalem, others scattered worldwide. Thomas went east, Mark south, and various followers dispersed around the Mediterranean.
Today much of the structure has been rebuilt and a small chapel with places to leave prayers, candles, or other mementos has joined it. Pipes guide the spring into a basin where tourists and pilgrims collect the water to take home with them after their journey. It is visited year round by devout Muslims, curious skeptics, faithful Catholics and even Popes. While the Catholic church has never claimed that they believe this to be the last home of the virgin mother, they have never denied it either and have elevated its status in their faith to that of a Holy Place. Every year on August 15 (the Feast of the Assumption of Mary) Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim clergy conduct joint services at the shrine, which is an incredibly rare occurrence anywhere in the world. He believed it was the house described by Emmerich and where the Virgin Mary had lived the final years of her life.
You can purchase empty bottles from this gift shop.The water from the nearby springs is believed to have healing powers, so visitors drink from the fountains and fill their bottles to take home. According to local urban legends, each tap represents an aspect of life, with one reflecting wealth, another health, and the last one fertility. Although they are not labeled, whichever tap you drink from is said to come true. Catherine Emmerich, born in 1774, was a German Augustinian nun and mystic known for her vivid visions and religious experiences. In the early 19th century, she became renowned for her accounts of the life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
The religious tourism gained an additional boost in the 50s of the 20th century when the Turkish authorities built a paved access road to the sanctuary. This smart move of the Turkish authorities resulted from the proclamation made in 1950 by Pope Pius XII concerning the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. Thus, it opened a road so that the site could benefit from the renowned archaeological heritage of the region and welcome international tourists.
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