Basilica of St. John

The Basilica of St John crowns Ayasuluk Hill above Selcuk, a few kilometres from Ephesus. It was built over what early Christians took to be the grave of John the Apostle, and for centuries it was one of the largest churches in the eastern Mediterranean and a fixed stop on the overland pilgrim road to the Holy Land.

Origins and Early Christian Significance

Ephesus had one of the earliest Christian communities in Asia Minor, and church tradition holds that John wrote his gospel there. After his exile on Patmos, where the Book of Revelation was written, he is said to have returned to Ephesus and died of natural causes, the only apostle not martyred. A memorial church stood over the grave first, then a basilica of the Theodosian period measuring roughly 75 by 45 metres. In the 6th century the emperor Justinian I replaced it with the monumental building whose ruins survive; Procopius records that the work ran from about 548 to 565.

An apocryphal story preserved in the Acts of John claims that the apostle's prayers brought down the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, which stood on the plain below. The church raised in his name centuries later became one of the major buildings of the medieval world in its own right, and its design is often cited as an influence on St Mark's Basilica in Venice.

Architecture

Justinian's church was laid out as a cross, roofed by a line of domes carried on brick arches and massive marble piers. It measured about 130 by 65 metres, well over twice the footprint of the basilica it replaced, on the scale of the emperor's other great commissions. Mosaics covered the vaults over the crossing, choir, transepts and nave, and the walls carried frescoes; some of these survive from the 10th century and show John, Christ and other saints.

The tomb of St John lay directly beneath the central dome, marked today by a raised marble platform between four columns - the focal point of the whole plan. The main approach on the eastern side is the Persecution Gate, which takes its name from a relief above it, long believed to show Christians being martyred and later identified as a scene of Achilles.

Pilgrimage and Relics

The basilica held a fragment of the True Cross and, by tradition, the original manuscript of the Book of Revelation; both are long lost. It was the tomb that drew the crowds. One account says it was opened in the reign of Constantine and found empty, which believers read as proof of John's assumption. Another holds that a fine dust known as manna rose from the grave; medieval pilgrims collected it in purpose-made flasks and carried it home as a cure, and the crush was heaviest on the saint's feast day. Sitting on the overland road to Jerusalem, the church took in pilgrims in numbers for centuries.

The Site Today

Turkish forces took Ephesus around 1308 and the basilica was converted into a mosque; earthquakes and later neglect reduced it to the outline visible now. Reconstruction has re-erected some of the marble columns and rebuilt stretches of wall, enough to read the plan on the ground, and a scale model near the entrance shows the complete church. Fragments of mosaic and fresco remain in place along the walls.

The terrace gives a wide view over the plain towards Ephesus, with the Ayasuluk Citadel above and the Isa Bey Mosque of 1375 just below - three periods of the same hill in one frame. Kiosks by the gate sell local crafts, and the cafes of Selcuk are a few minutes' walk away.

Nearby Attractions

Ayasuluk Citadel: the fortress on the summit directly above the basilica, with Byzantine walls and towers later reworked under Turkish rule, built to defend the church and the settlement below. The climb is rewarded with views over Selcuk and the plain.

Ephesus: about three kilometres south, among the most completely excavated ancient cities in the Mediterranean, with the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre and the marble streets linking them.

Temple of Artemis: at the foot of Ayasuluk Hill, between the basilica and Ephesus. Almost nothing is left of the Wonder of the Ancient World except foundations and a single reassembled column, which makes the scale of what once stood there hard to picture on site.

Kusadasi, the nearest harbour, lies about 20 km west, and the transfer from the marina up to Ayasuluk Hill takes around half an hour. Because the basilica, the Temple of Artemis and Ephesus all sit within three kilometres of each other, many visitors combine a day of sightseeing with a private gulet charter along the Turkey coast, going ashore at Kusadasi in the morning and rejoining the boat the same evening.