The most beautiful religious buildings Selçuk (Ephese)

In the 19th century, a German nun, Catherine Emmerich, had a vision of the Virgin's dwelling at Ephesus. Priests discover the house that matches his description. In 1967, the Pope visited the site and confirmed the veracity of the vision. Since then, pilgrims from all over the world have flocked to the humble house, transformed into a chapel. A service is celebrated on 15 August by Orthodox Christians and Muslims. No dolmuş for the journey: your legs or the taxi.

Isabey Mosque is a 14th century Seljuk mosque erected in the times of the Emirate of Aydın, at the foot of Ayasuluk Hill, with a remarkable stalactite portal. The restoration of the building has left the ancient materials used by its builders clearly visible. Note the bust of the Emir of Aydın. The courtyard of the caravanserai is a haven of peace. The building is still in operation but is open to the public outside of prayer hours.

Start at Ayasoluk Hill where St. John the Theologian is buried. Enter through the Gate of Persecution built by the Byzantines in the 6th century. After his exile on the island of Patmos, Saint John returned to Ephesus around the year 97 and wrote his Gospel there. He died two years later, and on the site of his grave a small church was built. In the 6th century, it became a basilica destroyed in 1402 by Tamerlan. Go up to the Byzantine fortress. The tower of the ramparts offers a panoramic view of the region, the caravanserai and the Isa Bey mosque.

After the museum, on the road to Ephesus, stands the only column that testifies to the existence of one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. On this site, from the end of the VIIth century, three temples dedicated to Cybele, Phrygian goddess of the fertility, follow one another. Crésus builds then, in the VIth century, an imposing Artemision supported on 127 columns. But, the same night that Alexander the Great was born, in 356 BC, the monument was burned by Erostrate who wanted to immortalize his name by destroying the temple! The Hellenistic Artemisia, built on the ruins of the previous one, is even bigger, and decorated by famous sculptors like Praxiteles. This sacred place of the cult of Artemis is then considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. With the advent of Christianity, it gradually lost its splendor and, from the fourth century, it was used as a quarry for the construction of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

In Greece, the goddess Artemis combines the attributes of several older deities symbolizing fertility, nature and the moon. For the Romans, she became Diana, goddess of the hunt, but at the same time protector of animals, trees, lakes and rivers and pregnant women, even if she is a virgin. Finally, she is androgynous since her statues are decorated at chest height with a series of small breasts which, according to the most recent theories, represent bulls' testicles. Her attributes are the bow, the half-moon and the stag. Her priestesses were supposed to be virgins and her priests eunuchs, but in her temple a feast is celebrated in honor of Dionysus where the men become satyrs and the women bacchantes.

To make sure that the priestesses are really virgins, they are made to enter a cave behind the temple. If they succumbed to the pleasures of the flesh, the opening of the cave closed for three days and when it opened again, the sinner disappeared. On the pedestal of the great statue of Artemis are engraved letters forming incomprehensible words, considered magical. These letters of Ephesus are engraved on pieces of wood or leather and worn in medallions to protect against evil spells. According to Plutarch, the soothsayers advised the victims of bewitchments to pronounce these magic words in a low voice. It is however difficult to imagine by contemplating the ruins of the site its splendor of formerly...