Beat the cruise ship passengers on the giant tour buses and get to the House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus as soon as it opens.
What is the House of the Virgin Mary?
The House of the Virgin Mary is a Catholic shrine near the ancient city of Ephesus in what is now Turkey. It is believed by many Catholics that this was where Mary, mother of Jesus, spent her final years and – eventually – died.
While the Catholic Church has never made any pronouncement on the authenticity of the site, it has become a place of pilgrimage.
Where exactly is the House of the Virgin Mary?
The House of the Virgin Mary is on Mt Koressos, 7km from the modern Turkish city of Selcuk. During Mary’s lifetime, it would have been on the outskirts of Ephesus, and it is widely believed she was brought to the house by St John.
The authenticity of the house is dubious, but thousands of people come to Mt Koressos to walk through the house, which is now presented as a small chapel. The walk-through takes a few seconds after standing in a long queue, and the experience is frankly underwhelming. This is especially the case for non-Catholics.
Non-Catholics should see the House of the Virgin Mary as a curiosity to be tagged on a trip to Ephesus. Indeed, many Ephesus bus tours do exactly this.
House of the Virgin Mary opening times
According to the official website, the opening hours of the House of the Virgin Mary near Ephesus are 08.30 to 17.00 every day. Obviously, if you’re on a bus tour, you’re not going to get a lot of choice in when you arrive.
Most bus tours, however, arrive in the morning. They tackle the house of the Virgin Mary before moving on to Ephesus.
There’s no point sugar-coating it, either – there can be scores of buses parked up at the site.
When to visit the House of the Virgin Mary
If visiting independently, the best time to visit the House of the Virgin Mary is before the buses arrive. Aim to get there as it opens at 08.30, and you’ll beat the worst of the crowds before the bus tours arrive en masse.
The key thing to realise is what’s happening in Kusadasi, a 35-minute drive away. This coastal city has a port capable of hosting several large cruise ships at once. And most people on those cruise ships want to see Ephesus.
Dozens of large coaches are parked at the port, waiting to take the cruise passengers on shore excursions. Most of these will go to the House of the Virgin Mary before Ephesus.
However, few of these coaches will leave before 08.30, given the time it takes the ships to dock and the passengers to disembark.
That gives a half an hour to an hour window at the start of the day before the House of the Virgin Mary is besieged.
Should I visit the House of the Virgin Mary in the afternoon?
The other solid option is to visit the House of the Virgin Mary later in the day, in the hour before it closes. Aim for 16.00 to 17.00 and the vast bulk of the bus tours will have gone.by then. The cruise ship passengers, certainly, are on their way back to the ship before it departs.
However, the flip side of visiting the House of the Virgin in the afternoon is that it can be ferociously hot, and there is little shade in those queues.
