The tour concluded here and we set off to drive back to Izmir. The body of St John is said to have been removed by the Roman Crusaders and the Turkish invasion saw part of the church converted to a mosque. Today, a glance at the ruins alludes to its magnificence and grandeur of scale. Later, Emperor Justinian and Queen Theodora built a cruciform-shaped basilica crowned with six domes.

On the southern slope of the Ayosolug Hill, a small chapel stood over St JohnвЂ™s grave in the 4th century. Tradition says that St John came to Ephesus with Mother Mary, and wrote his Gospel here. The rich texture and designs were hard to resist and I bought myself a small carpet as a memory of Ephesus. Rice is a ritual food and considered a divine gift from which ritual wine is fermented. I watched in admiration the village womenвЂ™s sleight of hand as they wove intricate motifs (crops, flowers and love-notes) into woollen, silk and cotton carpets. Tahini Helwa topped with orange slices was the perfect finish to a delectable meal.ДЄ brief visit to a weaving centre ensued. Rice and вЂњbulgurвЂќ (cracked wheat) with chicken and sauteed vegetables comprised the main course.

Meze - aubergines and other veggies in tomato sauce, carrots with garlic yoghurt, red chilli paste, beet pickle, bread and cheese rolls - was an explosion of flavours. Lunch at a Turkish restaurant was divine. I said a prayer and went to see the Sacred Fountain and the Wishing Wall believed to make oneвЂ™s wishes come true.

The Roman-style stone chapel was rebuilt on the original structure which dates back to the 1st and 4th centuries. This pilgrimage site was discovered in 1892 based purely on the visions (which proved accurate) of a German nun, Anna Katharina Emmerick (1774-1824). Peace reigns at the House of Virgin Mary, considered to be Mother MaryвЂ™s home in her last days. The Great Theatre where happy audiences applauded, the Theatre Gymnasium for physical and mental training activities, the Hellenistic Fountain which received water supply from the Marnas River, the Trajan Fountain - a reservoir, Milestones indicating distances between ancient cities, the Bouleuterion which housed Parliament meetings, musical performances and contests, the House of Pleasure - supposedly a brothel, the public latrine, the Temple of Hadrian, the Basilica Stoa, Agora market and a shopping street were among the other facets we explored.ДЄ history buff, I was deeply satisfied and ready for the religious sojourn through Ephesus. Messages about important events and announcements were archived by inscribing from paper scrolls onto stone tablets, thus making these history pages in stone.Д«uilt on a burial chamber, the Celsus Library is a three-storeyed building with an impressive faГ§ade. An interesting feature is the stone inscriptions in Greek and Latin.

Glimpses ancient ritual northern