Basilica of St. John

The Basilica of St. John stands on Ayasuluk Hill, one of the earliest settlement areas of Ephesus. Christian tradition places the tomb of John here. In the sixth century, Emperor Justinian replaced an earlier church with a monumental cruciform basilica whose surviving plan still conveys its former scale.

The traditional tomb of John

The church developed around a place venerated as the burial site of John, known variously as St. John, St. Jean, Aziz Yahya or John the Theologian. The tomb area became the spiritual center of the complex.

Reconstructed columns at the Basilica of St. John

Justinian’s six-domed basilica

The surviving cross-shaped, three-aisled plan belongs to the sixth-century rebuilding under Justinian. Six domes once covered the principal spaces, creating a major pilgrimage church visible across the landscape.

Baptistery, chapel and treasury

The complex included a baptistery, chapels and a skeuophylakion or treasury. These spaces show that the basilica functioned as more than a memorial: it supported worship, initiation, administration and the movement of pilgrims.

Brick and stone remains of Justinian's basilica

Build My Ephesus Day

Ayasuluk through later centuries

The hill remained important through Byzantine, Aydınoğlu and Ottoman periods. The nearby fortress and İsa Bey Mosque allow visitors to read Selçuk as a layered settlement rather than a town that appeared after ancient Ephesus disappeared.

The view toward Artemision

From the basilica area, the plain below reveals the relationship between Ayasuluk Hill, the Temple of Artemis, the ancient city and the changed coastline. It is one of the clearest places to understand why Ephesus moved across the landscape over millennia.

View across the monumental church complex