In my second trip to Selçuk in less then a month I at least have managed to see several new places including what is believed to have once been the blessed virgin Mary's house and the grotto of the seven sleepers. I have to admit that the first was a bit disappointing but mainly because there were so many people there. A carnival cruise ship was in port and by my estimation there were something close to 54 tour buses in the Ephesus region due to it. Mary's house is actually a small chapel built on top of the site revealed to be the location of her house in later life by visions of a nun in Spain (?). It would have been the quietly reflective spot I was looking for if they hadn't just herded us through the chapel. Literally. I didn't even have time to stop and say a prayer. Kind of disappointing. I imagine when there are not so many people around you might get a few seconds longer to soak in the location but not today. At least people were quiet once they got into the mountaintop spot. It is enough for me to say that if other Marian sites of pilgrimage are that way I have no desire to visit.
The seven sleepers grotto on the other hand was almost completely empty. Of course there is not a whole lot to see there (although the gözleme was quite good for lunch). Reputedly it is known as the location where seven young Christian men went into caves/tombs to avoid persecution only to rise again several hundred years later as a testament to the resurrection philosophy of Christianity. Basically all there is to see is some ruins of the church built atop where they were said to be entombed, an early Christian cemetery and possibly the tombs where they were sealed. At least we were free to discover it without hoards of people around.
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