Baptistery, Basilica of St John, Ephesus, Izmir, Turkey

Large octagonal baptistery of the Basilica of St John with the nave arcade behind, built 536-565 AD under Emperor Justinian on the site of the apostle's tomb, Ephesus, Izmir, Turkey. St John the Evangelist spent his last years in Ephesus and died here. In the 4th century a church was erected over his tomb but in the 6th century Justinian ordered the construction of a large, 6-domed basilica built of stone and brick with marble columns in a Greek cross plan, the ruins of which we see today. The church measures 130x56m and was an important Christian pilgrimage site, attaining the status of Church of the Cross. The baptistery consists of an octagonal central part surrounded by a corridor and corner rooms and flanked with apsidal halls to the east and the west. In the floor is the baptismal font. Storks now nest on the capitals of the columns on the upper storey of the nave arcade or narthex, seen here. The church interior would have been covered with frescoes, and the vaults with mosaics. An earthquake in the 14th century destroyed most of the building. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city founded in the 10th century BC, and later a major Roman city, on the Ionian coast near present day Selcuk. Picture by Manuel Cohen

Picture No

13428251

Media ID

45098347

Size

5616px x 3744px (5.6MB)

Credit

Manuel Cohen / Mary Evans

Source

Photograph by Manuel Cohen