Basilica of St. John

Basilica of St. John - İzmir — Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0

About Basilica of St. John

The Basilica of Saint John the Theologian (Greek: Βασιλική του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Θεολόγου) was a basilica in the city of Ephesus. It was constructed by Justinian the Great in the 6th century, at a site where John the Apostle was said to have been buried. It was modeled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.

The ruins of the basilica are on the slopes of Ayasuluk Hill, right next to the İsa Bey Mosque, just below the fortress near the centre of Selçuk, İzmir Province, Turkey and about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from Ephesus.

Ayasuluk Hill is believed to have been the site of the late Bronze Age city of Apasa, capital of the Kingdom of Arzawa. The basilica is believed to have been built over the ruins of the earlier city.

Procopius provides a small description of the Basilica in one of his works, Buildings, whereupon he wrote:

There chanced to be a certain place before the city of Ephesus, lying on a steep slope hilly and bare of soil and incapable of producing crops, even should one attempt to cultivate them, but altogether hard and rough. On that site the natives had set up a church in early times to the...

This description is taken from Wikipedia and published under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Basilica of Saint John the Theologian

Location and Access

Basilica of St. John is located in Selçuk district, İzmir. Coordinates are 37.95250, 27.36778. You can get directions from the map below. You can request a licensed local guide for İzmir.

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