House of the Virgin Mary Meryem Ana Evi
Selçuk, Turkey UNESCO World Heritage Site
The House of the Virgin Mary is a monastery, archaeological site, and shrine of Our Lady featuring Byzantine architecture. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ephesus and is the 23rd most looked-up sight in Turkey on English Wikipedia.
Planning a visit
The site is open daily from 08:00 to 18:00. Visitors can travel to the area via Adnan Menderes International Airport in Gaziemir, which is 45 km away, or by Samos Airport in Greece, which is also 45 km from the site. The location is 527 km from the capital, Ankara.
For those visiting in summer, July and August are the warmest months with daily highs of 33 °C and very little rain. May and September offer milder temperatures, while January is the coldest month with a low of 3 °C and the most rain. Nearby sights include the Library of Celsus (3.1 km), Ephesus (3.2 km), the Temple of Artemis (5 km), and the Ephesus Archaeological Museum (5.1 km). Magnesia on the Maeander is also 18.6 km away.
Weather by month
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 33 °C. The wettest is January, with about 175 mm of rain.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high, °C | 11 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 24 | 30 | 33 | 33 | 29 | 23 | 17 | 12 |
| Average low, °C | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 5 |
| Rainfall, mm | 175 | 121 | 95 | 57 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 49 | 141 | 172 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
Temperatures and rainfall: 1981–2010 averages for this spot (4 km grid), from CHELSA. Rainy days: 2015–2024, NASA POWER.
