The House of the Virgin Mary (Turkish: Meryem Ana Evi, "Mother Mary's House")
Staying
in Kusadasi gives you an opportunity that you can not miss - to visit
Ephesus Ruins and Artemis Temple, one of the seven wonders of the
ancient world. Though it can be quite an exhausting tour, especially in
hot summer months, it might still be your best choice to go on a full
day excursion (9am-17am) because most agencies in that case include a
visit to The House of the Virgin Mary (7 km from Selçuk).
Prices
of such excursions range up to 40 but with a little bargaining you
can get it for 30 (bus, entrance fees, and lunch included). Some of
the local agencies have great English speaking guides who will give you
a lot of information about the places as well as about Selçuk, Turkish
culture, education and daily life. If you decide to visit the house on
your own, the entrance fee is 11 YTL.
It is believed that St.
John had brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Ephesus 4-5 years after
the death of Christ and that she lived there until her "Assumption into
Heaven". This house which was prepared by St. John beforehand is on Mt.
Koressos (Bülbül Daği) and 420 meters high from the sea level. The
place of the house where Virgin Mary had spent her last days was found
in 1891, by Lazarian priests who used, as a guide, a book written by a
German nun Anna Katherina Emmerich who had supposedly established a
spiritual communication with Virgin Mary in a trance. It is assumed
that the grave of Virgin Mary is also nearby.
The stone building was
restored some time later and the statue of Virgin Mary in the apse was
placed there about a hundred years ago.
Today, only the central
part and a room on the right of the altar are open to visitors which
makes the building look more like a church than a house.
Don't
be surprised if the nuns in the church decide you are not "covered
enough" and give you a scarf to wear while you pass through the house.
Even
if you are not a religious person, you will be amazed with the house
that is in the same time a Christian and Muslim shrine. There is a
spring as an addition to the peaceful feeling that the entire place
gives as they say that the water from it has healing powers... Next
to the spring, there is a board where you can attach a paper or a cloth
with your wishes which are burnt from time to time so that the wishes
can go into heavens and come true ...
Every year, on August 15th, rites in commemoration of Virgin Mary are carried out in the house.