Private House of Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus with Basilica of St John Tour

You'll really "dig" this full-day private tour of the archeological site of Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary.

Depart with your professionally trained tour guide and drive to the House of the Virgin Mary. It is known with certainty that the Virgin Mary went to Ephesus and lived there for some time. Whether she died in Ephesus is not confirmed and her final resting place is still contested. In the late 1800s, a stigmatized German nun who had never been to Ephesus had a vision of the House of the Virgin Mary and described it in detail to German writer Clemens Brentano, who later published a book about it. In 1891 Paul, Superior of the Lazarists from Izmir, read about her vision and found a little building that corresponded with Emmerich's descriptions. Although the foundations were from the 1st century A.D., the house itself dates only back to the 5th century A.D. The site was officially declared a shrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1896, and since then it has become a popular place of pilgrimage. Popes visited the shrine in 1967 and again in 2006. This tour to Ephesus also includes visits to the Basilica of St. John.

Your next stop is the ancient site of Ephesus, the greatest port city in Asia Minor during the years of the Roman Empire. Upon arrival, you and your guide will enter through the upper (Magnesia) Gate and walk down through the site. You will visit the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, and the Thermal Baths of Scholastica. You'll view the remains of the main Agora, and see the Great Theater, built in the Greek era and reconstructed in the Roman period.

Your next stop is at the Basilica of St. John. It is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and was buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill. Three hundred years after the death of Saint Paul, a small chapel was constructed over the grave. The chapel was replaced with a marvelous basilica during the region of Emperor Justinian (527 -565 A.D.). The monumental basilica was in the shape of a cross and was covered with six domes. Its construction, being of stone and brick, is an extremely rare find amongst the architecture of its time. Raised on two steps and covered with marble, the tomb of St. John was under the central dome.

After your visit to Ephesus, enjoy a typical Turkish lunch at a nearby restaurant. After lunch, guests will have the opportunity to see a Turkish carpet demonstration before returning to Izmir.