Biblical Ephesus Tour
Tour Information
 |
Biblical Ephesus Tour Itinerary : House of Virgin Mary, Ephesus Ruins, Basilica of St.John, Artemission Port : Kusadasi Duration : 6 Hours Service Level : Private Tour Season : 01.01.2010 - 01.06.2010 |
||||||||||||||||||
Prices
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Plan Meet your guide at the pier of Kusadasi, you will have half hour drive to Ephesus Ruins for your first stop of the tour. Upon reaching the once powerful city, passing by the Magnesia gate, you will enter the administrative section of ancient Ephesus. The guided walking tour will take you through one of the most magnificent excavations in the world. See the Odeon, the Fountain of Trajan; enter a section of the steam baths of Scholastika, the temple of Hadrian and the impressive library of Celsius. The library is adorned with columns and statues. The Grand Theater, where the Apostle Paul preached, is the largest theater in antiquity with a capacity of 24,000 people. Continue to House of Virgin Mary. House of Virgin Mary is Located on the top of the "Bulbul" mountain 9 km ahead of Ephesus, the shrine of Virgin Mary enjoys a marvelous atmosphere hidden in the green. It is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Mary preferred this remote place rather than living in crowded place. You will visit to Basilica of St.John. It is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill. Three hundred years after the death of Saint Paul, a small chapel was constructed over the grave in the 4th century. The church was changed into a marvelous basilica during the region of Emperor Justinian (527 -565 AD). You will visit to Artemision. The Temple of Artemis is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Antic world. It has been built in the areas of Ephesus on a flat area which has over the centuries turned into a swamp. Today one can only see the ruins of the foundations of this marvelous construction of the Hellenistic Age, entirely made of marble and full of sculptured columns' capitals and shafts. The most beautiful remaining of this temple are today exhibited in the London British Museum.You will go back to pier of Kusadasi. |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Including * Professional, English speaking, state licensed guides for the guided tours included * Arrival and departure transfers in pier of Kusadasi * Tour transportation with A/C van * All entrance fees as per the itinerary * All service fees and local taxes |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Distances from Kusadasi Port Ephesus Ruins: 9.85 Miles House of Virgin Mary: 14.6 Miles Basilica of St.John: 11.4 Miles Temple of Artemis: 10.9 Miles |
|||||||||||||||||||
Information House of Virgin Mary
The Roman Catholic Church has never pronounced on the authenticity of the house, for lack of scientifically acceptable evidence. It has, however, from the blessing of the first pilgrimage by Pope Leo XIII in 1896, taken a very positive attitude towards the probability the house was actually the last home of the Theotokos (Mother of God). Pope Pius XII, in 1951, following the definition of the dogma of the Assumption in 1950, elevated the house to the status of a Holy Place, a privilege later made permanent by Pope John XXIII.
The site maintains its holiness for the Muslims as well as for the Christian world. People believing in the sanctity of the Virgin Mary come and drink from a spring running under the house which is believed to have healing properties. A liturgical ceremony is held here every year on August 15, to commemorate Virgin Mary and her passage into Heaven.
Some sources express doubt about the association of this site in Ephesus with the Virgin Mary, including Georges Henri Tavard, who stated that "the tradition of Mary's residence in this city of Asia Minor arose only in the twelfth century. The universal tradition among the Fathers of the Church places her residence, and thereby the locus of her Dormition when one begins to speak of it, in Jerusalem".
The supporters of the belief that the Virgin Mary lived her last years and died in her hut near Ephesus base their theory on two main points:
1. The presence of the Tomb of St. John and the Basilica of St. John in Ephesus: Jesus Christ, before dying on the cross, entrusted to St. John his mother (19:26-27). It is believed that after the crucifixion of Jesus, St. John left Jerusalem and came to Ephesus in order to convert its people to Christianity, as it was one of the biggest and safest non-Christian cities of its time (capital of the Asia Minor province of the Roman Empire). He then built a small hut to care for Mary just outside Ephesus in order to protect her from the largely Artemis worshipping community of the region. (see Temple of Artemis)
2. The presence of the Church of Mary, the first basilica in the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary, in Ephesus: In the early centuries of Christianity, places of worship were dedicated only to persons who lived or died in the area.
Official visits by Popes
Pope Paul VI visited the shrine on July 26, 1967, and 'unofficially' confirmed its authenticity. Pope John Paul II also visited the shrine, on November 30, 1979. Pope Benedict XVI visited this shrine on November 29, 2006 during his four-day pastoral trip to Turkey. The conclusion of his homily mentioned the martyrdom of Father Andrea Santoro in Trabzon which had taken place nine months prior to this visit.