Ephesus: Basilica of St. John

The last stop on our tour of Ephesus was the Basilica of St. John. The basilica was constructed in the 6th century by Justinian the Great and was said to be standing over the burial site of the Apostle John. Justinian the Great believed that Apostle John was buried in a tomb from the 4th century sitting high atop Ayasuluk Hill in the town Selçuk (just a few miles outside of Ephesus), so he built a church around it to preserve and honor the final resting place of the saint. It is said that Apostle John traveled from Jerusalem to Ephesus and spent part of his life there (and is said to have written his gospel here) until he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos by Emperor Domitian. During his time in exile on Patmos, historians believe that was when he wrote the book of Revelations. Apostle John was later pardoned from exile when a new emperor took power and he came back to Ephesus for the remainder of his life. With the decline in importance of Ephesus in 1402 (and after many Arab raids of the area), the basilica built around St. John's tomb fell to ruins. Soon after, the destroyed church was pillaged for building materials, but in recent years has become a site for historic restoration. Today, amidst the ruins of St. John's Basilica, you can find a small tombstone engraved with the words 'The Tomb of St. John,' no doubt to continue honoring his supposed resting place.

While the ruins were of a much smaller scale and not quite as imposing as those of ancient Ephesus, probably the most interesting part of our visit to the basilica was standing in the rain, overlooking the Turkish countryside as the call to prayer rang through the rubble from a mosque down below. We'd heard the call to prayer multiple times during our visit to Istanbul, but I finally got smart and whipped my iPhone out to record it (video above). It was eerily beautiful, standing there amongst the supposed burial grounds of John the Apostle hearing a Muslim call to prayer. I almost couldn't wrap my brain around what my eyes were seeing and what my ears were hearing. Very surreal, for sure.
 While Ephesus wasn't my favorite stop of our Mediterranean cruise, it was wonderful to be able to see so much history firsthand, and to learn a little more about the numerous biblical connections found in Turkey. If you ever have the chance to travel to Ephesus, on a cruise ship or otherwise, definitely do! Just avoid the carpet making demonstrations. Consider yourself warned. Up next on my Med cruise recap...we journey to Athens, Greece! 
Stay tuned...
[Linking up with Bonnie & Belinda for Travel Tuesday!]