House of the Virgin Mary

The House of the Virgin Mary stands on Bülbül Mountain near Selçuk and Ephesus and is one of Türkiye’s most internationally visited Christian pilgrimage shrines. The small restored stone chapel is traditionally identified as the place where Mary, the mother of Jesus, spent her final years after coming to the Ephesus region with St. John.

The specific identification became prominent in the nineteenth century. In 1891 Lazarist priests investigated the location after comparing the landscape with descriptions associated with the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German Catholic mystic who had never visited Ephesus. The site was subsequently restored and developed as a shrine.

Pope Paul VI visited in 1967, and Marian observances are held on 15 August. UNESCO includes the House of the Virgin Mary within the Ephesus World Heritage property and describes it as a major Christian pilgrimage place. That heritage recognition does not establish that Mary historically lived in this particular building.

Her residence here remains a religious and pilgrimage tradition, and the distinction should be maintained. The shrine is also visited respectfully by some Muslims, reflecting Mary’s importance in Islamic tradition as well as Christianity.