KUSADASI/ The Virgin Mary House

November 18, 2011
We are up early and have asked for room service since we have a tour that begins at 8:45 am to the Virgin Mary House and the ruins of Ephesus. We have been on this tour before but decided to do it again so that Dominick can see it.
Our bus leaves more or less on time ( you will understand better once you read about Ephesus) and we head into the mountains to see a small rock house that was built on the ruins of an original foundation declared by the Vatican to be the final residence of the Holy Mother. The Turks also revere her as the mother of a prophet and are dedicated to preserve and care for this site. Several years ago there was a great forest fire in this area. It is believed that the Virgin intervened and saved the local village as the fire was headed toward it while they were saving this little shrine from destruction. And the story goes that with prayer the wind died and the fire died on it’s own sparing their homes.
Before the crucifixion, Jesus charged John with the care of his mother, Mary. It is thought that he brought her to the mountains above Ephesus for her protection since it was not known if there would be retribution sought against her after the resurrection. This little house is very stark and you get an instant reverence when you walk thru. The lines are never short but today we actually go thru within a matter of 10 minutes or so. In the main season people stand for an hour or more just to walk thru this tiny treasure.
We fill a bottle with holy water from the taps where Mary washed her feet and hands. Last time we were here I filled a bottle and took it home to distribute to my YLI group as a memento of the 75^th Anniversary of the Institute. I also have given some to family and friends before having surgery or other medical procedures and feel it has helped them to heal quicker.
Our time at the little house comes to a close and back on the bus we head down the mountain to the ancient city of Ephesus.