House of the Virgin Mary

The House of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana Evi) is a small stone chapel high on the wooded slopes of Mt Koressos (Bülbül Dağı), about 7 km above the ruins of Ephesus and roughly 30 km from Kuşadası. Christian tradition holds that this was the last home of Mary, mother of Jesus, who is believed to have been brought here by Saint John after the crucifixion. It is one of the most revered pilgrimage sites in the eastern Mediterranean.

The modest building you see today rests on foundations dated to the 1st century, with later restoration. Its rediscovery in the 19th century is a remarkable story: the location was identified from the detailed visions of the German mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich, and Lazarist priests from Izmir, following her descriptions, found the ruined house exactly where she had said. The Catholic Church has never formally pronounced on its authenticity but has long encouraged pilgrimage here, and several popes — including Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI — have visited.

The site is sacred to both Christians and Muslims, as Mary (Meryem) is deeply honoured in Islam too, and you will see visitors of many faiths. Inside, the tiny chapel is candle-lit and silent; outside, pilgrims drink from a spring fed by the hillside and tie their written prayers to the famous Wishing Wall, a tapestry of paper and cloth that flutters in the breeze.

The atmosphere is calm and contemplative rather than grand — come for the peace and the setting among the pines as much as the building itself. Modest dress is expected (shoulders and knees covered), and visitors are asked to keep quiet inside the chapel. There is a small entrance fee and a parking charge for cars.

Because the house sits high on a mountain road with no public bus, most visitors come by car, taxi or — most easily — as part of a guided Ephesus tour from Kuşadası, which combines the ancient city below with the shrine above in a single half-day. You can book one of our Ephesus and Virgin Mary tours below.