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INFORMATION |
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ST.JOHN BASILICA
Basilica of St. John:At his crucifixion Jesus asked his
beloved disciple, John, to look after his mother. John and
the Virgin went to Ephesus between 42 and 48 AD and lived
there. John was martyred under the rule of the Emperor
Trajan. There has been much discussion as to whether John
the Apostle is confused with St. John the Theologian whose
name, Hagia Theologos, gave the Turkish name first for the
town and later only for the hill, Ayasuluk
A small church on the Ayasuluk Hill was dedicated to him in
the 2C AD. This church was replaced in
the 6C by a huge basilica built by the Emperor Justinian,
the impressive ruins of which are still visible.
The basilica had a cruciform plan with four domes along its
longitudinal axis and a pair flanking the central dome to
form the arm of the cross. Under the central dome was the
sacred grave of St. John. Pilgrims have believed That a fine
dust from his grave has magical and curative powers. In the
apse of the central nave, beyond the transept is the
synthronon, semicircular rows of seats for the clergy. To
the north transept was attached the treasury which was later
converted into a chapel. The baptistery is from an earlier
period and now located to the north of the nave.
The citadel at the top of the Ayasuluk Hill is a 6C AD
Byzantine construction which was later extended by the
Seljuks. Lower down the slopes of Ayasuluk Hill is the Isa
Bey Camisi, a 14C AD mosque of the Aydinoglu Principality
period. It was built by Isa Bey, a grandson of the founder
of the Principality. This is the earliest known example in
Anatolia of a mosque That has an arcaded courtyard and pool.
It is also the earliest representative of an Anatolian
mosque with columns and a transept. It is the last example
of the consecutive different religions; pagan temple,
Christian church and Moslem mosque.
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