Three Johns and the Virgin Mary

On Monday 12 November, we briefly visted a house on a mountain top near Kusadasi where the Virgin Mary and (some) St. John lived after Jesus's Crucifixion. Evidently there are many St. Johns that existed in the 1st century AD: the apostle John, the Gospel writer John, and the John who wrote the Book of Revelation. There is disagreement in Christendom how many distinct people these three Johns comprise. Our guide Metin said that the John in question both wrote the Gospel and Revelation. I asked about this because I recalled reading that Biblical historians had reached a consensus that these were two different people. Our guide indicated that there is no real agreement about the number or identity of the various St. Johns and stuck to his story. I knew that Metin often worked with religious people and got the impression that, as a matter of guidecraft and business sense, he tried to state things to avoid offending people with deeply held beliefs -- even if it played a little loosely with the facts.

Not being religious or myth-enthralled, I was somewhat underwhelmed by the site; even Brian, who is a committed Christian, wasn't particularly enthused about it. Pictures weren't allowed inside (read in the moderately interesting parts), so here are my few photos of this shrine.