(This is a continuation from the previous blog on Kusadasi, Turkiye.)
After leaving Ephesus, we had to go almost to the top of Mount Bulbuldagi (Mount Koressos, or Nightingale Mountain) on a narrow, winding mountain road in order to reach Meryem Ana Evi (House of the Virgin Mary, or "Mother Mary's House"). We were surprised to learn that this pilgrimage draws both Christians and Muslims. Mary (Maryam in Islam) is deeply honored in the Qur'an as Jesus' mother. Signs around the facility display several Qur'anic quotes.
According to some scholars, after the Crucifixion, the Apostle John took responsibility for Mary, following Jesus' words from the cross: "Behold your Mother" (John 19:27). According to site literature, Mary is believed to have accompanied John to Ephesus and spent her final days in this house. However, no surviving first-century document proves that Mary ever lived here. Other scholars believe Mary spent her final days and died in Jerusalem rather than near Ephesus, but no evidence supports this theory either.
Many popes have visited the shrine, including Pope Paul VI in 1967, Pope John Paul II in 1979, and Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged that traditions concerning Mary's Dormition developed in both Ephesus and Jerusalem.
We toured the house, but photography was not allowed.
Below the house are fountains with spring water, which many pilgrims regard as blessed, so they commonly drink it and collect some to take with them. We didn't want to take any chances, so we did both.
Nearby is also a Wishing Wall, where visitors attach pieces of paper or cloth with prayers, wishes, and petitions.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
After we finished touring the house, we asked our guide where we were going next. To our surprise, he said he was taking us back to Kusadasi because this was the end of the tour he did for ship passengers. We quickly showed him a copy of the list of places we had sent him to visit before we ever agreed to hire him for the tour. He looked at the list and asked where we got it because he had not even visited a number of places. When I asked him where he was from, he said that he lived in a different part of Turkiye but worked in Kusadasi during the summer months because there were more tourists. He said that most of the places on our list were near Ephesus, and to visit them, we would have to drive back down the mountain. We reminded him that if he had followed the tour route we gave him, we would have stopped at Mary's House first and then driven down the mountain to Ephesus. He finally grudgingly agreed to drive back down the mountain.
It is difficult to see objects in the picture below of the Ephesus area, but the Great Theatre (white) is in the lower left corner; the Basilica of St. John, Ayasuluk Castle, and a 14th-century mosque are in the upper right corner; and the Temple of Artemis is located between the two areas. The distance between the theatre and the castle is about two miles.
Our guide apparently was not familiar with the Basilica of St. John and gave us incorrect information about the ruins, which we didn't discover until we returned home.
In the 6th century, the original church on the site became unusable, so Emperor Justinian demolished it and built a six-domed church, whose ruins we saw during our visit. The church was a cruciform basilica in the form of a Latin Cross, with St. John's tomb (#4 below) located at the junction of the arms of the cross. This was the largest religious building constructed in Ephesus after the Temple of Artemis, a short distance away (see the map above).
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| Artist Unknown - Web Picture |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
To reach the basilica, we passed through several gates in the surrounding walls.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Monumental Gate is a famous three-arched structure on the way to the Basilica.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
St. John's tomb lies beneath the Basilica's main altar area, but it was not open to the public.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Ashley |
The baptismal font was designed for Christian baptism by immersion. A person being baptized entered the basin on the steps from either side, was baptized, and then came back out. The baptistery was a separate area of the basilica specifically devoted to baptisms.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Ayasuluk Castle lies just to the north, but it is not part of the Basilica. We did not visit the castle because our guide said it was closed. After we returned home, we checked the web and discovered that it was probably open when we were there.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Isa Bey Camii, a 14th-century mosque, lies just west of the Basilica and represents the area's transition from Byzantine Christian rule to the Turkish-Islamic period. Isa Bey ruled Aydinid (Aydinoglu) Beylik from 1360 to 1390 and built the mosque in 1375. The mosque was inspired by the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the Harran and Diyarbakir mosques in Turkiye. It is unusually large and sophisticated for its time. The title "Bey" means lord, chief, or ruler, so the name is understood to be "The Mosque of Lord Isa."
The courtyard holds what we think was a collection of old grave markers, but we could not read any of the inscriptions. After taking pictures in the courtyard, we were invited inside, but we had to remove our shoes, and the women had to cover their hair.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Sophia |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
The Temple of Artemis (Artemision) is located between the Basilica of St. John and the Great Theatre. Artemision was one of the most celebrated religious buildings of its time and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Artemis was the Greek goddess generally associated with the wilderness, hunting, childbirth, and young women. However, Artemis of Ephesus was also associated with fertility, abundance, protection, and the city's prosperity. Artemis statues found at the site have her standing rigidly, wearing an elaborate headdress and decorated garment, with multiple rounded objects covering her chest. Scholars have various theories concerning the chest coverings, but the exact meaning is unknown.
The Temple itself was enormous for its time. It was approximately 115 meters (277 feet) long and 55 meters (180 feet) wide. It had 127 Ionic columns about 18 meters (60 feet) tall surrounding the building, and much of the building was constructed from marble.
In 356 BC, the Temple was deliberately burned by a man named Herostratus, because he wanted his name to be remembered. Some legends say that the fire occurred on the same night that Alexander the Great was born.
The Temple was rebuilt, but was badly damaged during a Gothic raid in 262 AD. As Christianity became the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, Artemis's mythological beliefs declined, and the temple closed. Over the centuries, people removed much of the marble and reused it in other buildings.
From the Temple site, Isa Bey Camii, the Basilica of St. John, and Ayasuluk Castle are visible to the north.
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| Artist Unknown - Web Picture |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
After visiting Artemision, our guide said the other places on our list were closed, so he was taking us back to Kusadasi. He would have taken us to a Turkish carpet shop, a leather goods store, and a jewelry shop, but we told him we were not interested in visiting any of those places.
Since we only had snacks to eat at Ephesus, we stopped at a local restaurant when we returned to Kusadasi. On this trip, I could never understand the waiters, so everyone ordered for me. What I got to eat was always a surprise, but most of it tasted good.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
After eating, we strolled along the waterfront and admired the outdoor sculptures. International artists have been invited to the city to carve large blocks of Marmara marble, with the finished works placed along the harbor. Some abstract sculptures combine human forms, musical themes, movement, and instruments rather than depicting specific historical individuals. Given the 2026 Olympics, I think a Norwegian artist made the boat sculpture.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Nearby is an open-air archaeological park with more than 50 stone objects from the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman periods, which were discovered at various locations around Kusadasi rather than at a single building site.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Kaleici Carsisi (Old Town Bazaar) is the historic shopping district in central Kusadasi. It is a network of narrow pedestrian streets and alleys filled with shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars that appeal to tourists. One store even had life-size mannequins modeling Turkish fezzes, and another store sold cheap Rolex watches.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Sophia |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Our favorite stop was at an ice cream shop where they put on a show that entertained everyone.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Kaleici Camii in the Old Town district was completed in 1618 by Grand Vizier Okuz Mehmed Pasa. It is the oldest surviving dated mosque in central Kusadasi and particularly significant because it represents the period when the town was transformed into an important Ottoman port.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Also in the Old Town district is the Okuz Mehmet Pasa Caravanserai, built in 1618 and resembling a small stone fortress to deter pirates. It was a secure stopping place for merchants, travelers, their goods, and their pack animals, so pirates did not enter the harbor and raid the town.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Scala Nuova Village is an open-air shopping complex that caters to cruise ship passengers looking for jewelry, leather, carpet, and souvenirs. Since we had just visited Old Town, we did not stop.
Nearby were more marble sculptures. The pigeon sculpture is significant in Kusadasi because the city's name is understood to be "Bird Island," which is also the name of an island in the harbor.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Since it wasn't too far, we decided to walk out to Guvercinada Castle on Pigeon Island. Along the way, we passed a man catching fish right from the harbor sidewalk. We also passed several ships you could rent for your own private party.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Guvercinada Castle sits on Pigeon Island at the entrance to Kusadasi's harbor and was strategically important as a fortification protecting the city from sea attacks. In 1826, Ilyas Aga built the defensive wall around the island as an additional fortification. The causeway connecting the island to the mainland is modern, so visitors can walk to the castle.
The island has a small museum that contains items from shipwrecks, a lighthouse, walkways, and early-period cannons.
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| Picture by Ashley |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
As we returned to the mainland on the causeway, we met an interesting person known as "Ali Baba" of Ephesus Taxi Service in Kusadasi (alibabataxis@gmail.com). It turned out he is the only person listed on "tourisfied.com" as a recommended local tour guide provider in Kusadasi. It's too bad we didn't find him when we were looking for a tour guide in Turkiye. When he learned about our guide experience, he sympathized with us and offered to take us up the hill to the Atatürk statue, show us a few other places not on our list, and then drop us back at our ship. How could we resist!
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the first president of the Republic of Turkiye, and his statue stands on a hill overlooking Kusadasi. You can see it from most places in town. Two quotes on the statue's pedestal are translated to read "Freedom and independence are my character" and "Love of one's country is measured by service to it."
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Ashley |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
Ladies Beach is about 4 km south of the port and, during the Ottoman period, was restricted to women only. Today, it is no longer restricted to women and is one of the most popular beaches in Kusadasi because of the fine sand and relatively shallow water.
Also on the beach is a bronze statue of a young mermaid, looking out toward the Aegean Sea.
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| Picture by Ashley |
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| Picture by Ashley |
The El Heykeli (Hand of Peace) and the "I Love Kusadasi" sign were both located along the bay close to our ship. The open hand reaching upward, with several doves taking flight, symbolizes peace, friendship, freedom, and unity.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
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| Picture by Kolohe |
