House of the Virgin Mary

Meryem Ana Evi stands in pine woods on the mountain above Ephesus, a small building of stone with a domed apse, identified in the nineteenth century on the basis of the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German nun who never visited Turkey but described the place in detail; a search party sent from İzmir in 1891 found a ruined house matching the description, built over earlier foundations. The Catholic Church has not pronounced on its authenticity but has treated it as a place of pilgrimage, and several popes have visited. Inside, the chapel is small, dim and kept quiet, with a statue of Mary in the apse. Outside is a spring, and a long wall where visitors tie written petitions - and it is worth knowing that the site is venerated by Muslims as well as Christians, with Mary honoured in the Qur'an, so the crowd is genuinely mixed. It is a place of prayer first, and the atmosphere is enforced.

What you actually see

• The stone chapel - the small domed building in the woods.
• The wish wall - written petitions tied by visitors.
• The spring - the water beside the house.
• The pine setting - the mountain above Ephesus.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Early morning before the tour coaches from the coast arrive; the site is small and fills quickly.

Honest expectations

Silence is required inside and photography is prohibited in the chapel. It is small - the queue can exceed the visit. There is no public transport; taxi or tour only, and the ticket is separate from Ephesus.

Nearby

Ephesus is down the mountain; the Basilica of St John and the Temple of Artemis are in Selçuk.