I got up early one morning while in Selcuk and went wandering. On top of a hill I found what is now known as St. John’s Church. Written records show that Saint John lived in the ancient city of Ephesus (near present-day Selcuk) for the last remaining years of his life after fleeing from religious persecution. Its believed that Saint John wrote several books of the Bible while living in Ephesus.
Saint John died sometime during the 1st Century and he requested to be buried on mount Ayusuluk which is where he spent a lot of his time while in Ephesus. A monument was built over his grave and in the 4th Century, Constantine, the Emperor of Rome, built a church over his grave. Two hundred years later an even larger and more impressive church was built over the existing one by Justinian, the current Emperor of Rome. The church has six domes and was one of the most impressive religious structures of its day. Its believed that if the Church of Saint John were fully restored today it would be the seventh largest cathedral in the world.
Like most ancient buildings it has been a victim of wars, earthquakes, fires, and pillagers and only ruins remain. Parts of the church have been slightly restored and its easy to imagine how impressive the cathedral was in its prime. The ruins sit on top of a small hill and wile wondering through the ruins you get a panoramic of view of the surrounding city of Selcuk and the countryside and farms around it.
