April 3: Kusadasi to Istanbul
Fortress & Basilica of St. John above Temple of Artemis

The impressive ruins of this Byzantine church mark the spot where St John the Evangelist was buried. The church is on the slopes of Ayasoluk Hill near the center of Selcuk (the town next to Ephesus), just below the fortress.

St John is believed to have spent the last years of his life in Ephesus writing his version of the Gospel. Emperor Justinian (527-565 AD) believed that a tomb dating from the 300s was John's, so he built a great church above it in the 500s.

In later centuries the ruined church was pillaged for building materials, but restoration allows you to see its extent and to imagine its beauties.

Just down the hill from the basilica is the 13th-century Isa Bey Mosque, recently restored, open for free (it's a working mosque) and worth a look. To the southwest, look for the ruined Temple of Artemis between the St John Basilica and Ephesus.