Basilica of St. John

Already in the 2nd century AD, a Christian tradition developed which identified the Ephesian John the Theologian, as the apostle and author of the gospel and the Apocalypse. In the 5th century, an early Christian church was built over a simple grave on the south slope of the Ayasoluk. This was replaced in the middle of the 6th century, under the patronage of Emperor Justinian, by a monumental domed basilica with a cross-shaped ground plan. When the Ephesians moved to the Ayasoluk, The Basilica of St. John soon assumed the function of the episcopal cathedral and the hill was fortified. The basilica has been extensively renovated and the surrounding area laid out as an archaeological park.