247 Items
The Church of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus
This building started life in the 2nd century AD as an important school of higher education known as a Museion. It was converted into a Christian Basilica in the 4th century AD and significantly modified and added to as part of the repurposing. This church was where the important Ecumenical Council of Ephesus was held in 431 AD. The church was further modified during the reign of Justinian.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Basilica, Church, Church Council, Ephesus, Justinian, Late Antique, Turkey
The Cave of the Seven Sleepers, Ephesus
Associated with the legend of the "Seven Sleepers" where seven Christian men miraculously slept for 200 years in a cave thereby avoiding persecution. Seen as a miracle of God the men were revered and when they died they were buried here and a church was erected above. Many graves are to be found at the site likely as so many wanted to buried near to the miracle men. The excavations here concluded that the Church and the graves appeared to be from the 5th and 6th centuries.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Church, Ephesus, Late Antique, Tomb, Turkey
Basilica of St. John, Ephesus
Remains of the 6th century AD Basilica to St. John reportedly built upon the saints' tomb and commissioned by the Emperor Justinian. Attacks on Ephesus in the 7th and 8th centuries prompted the fortification of the area immediately surrounding the Basilica The basilica has been extensively excavated and restored since the 1920's.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Basilica, Church, Ephesus, Justinian, Late Antique, Turkey
Jeradeh
The modern settlement of Jeradeh has developed to the side of the ancient village, meaning that in the 1990s the site had not been plundered for stone . The C5th church is heavily overgrown and the foliage makes it difficult to see all the church interior.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Zawiyeh, Jeradeh, Limestone Massif, Syria
Ruweiha Church of Bizzos
The C6th Church in Ruweiha is known by the name of its patron Bizzos. It is an exceptionally large building that has a wide arch span facilitated by the use of piers springing from cross-shaped bases, rather than the more usual arrangement of columns and capitals. In the 1990s it was well preserved, but several families lived in houses in the ruins of the structure. The mausoleum of the patron lies on the edge of the church compound.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, Bizzos, Church, Jebel Zawiyeh, Limestone Massif, Mausoleum, Pier, Ruweiha, Syria
Serapeum/The Red Basilica, Pergamum
The Serapeum was a vast temple and associated complex built at the foot of the acropolis of Pergamum during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The temple was dedicated to the worship of the Greaco-Egyptian god Serapis and to the Egyptian goddess Isis. The temple complex was huge and had to cross the nearby Selinus river supported by two very large vaulted tunnels which channel the waters to this day. The majority of the courtyard lies under the modern town buildings to the west of the temple. Originally covered with marble facings only the red brick superstructure of the temple remains. During the late Roman/early Byzantine period a church dedicated to St John was built inside the main temple. The church is in poor preservation when compared to the surrounding temple. However due to the instability of the remaining structure of the temple it is not possible to enter it and view the church remains. The temple is flanked by two contempraneous rotunda, one of which is a functioning mosque while the other is open to the general public.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Church, Pergamum, Roman, Temple, Turkey
Ruweiha C5th church
Ruweiha is unusual for being the only village that had two churches with a bema, however in this case the nave-platform seems to have been dismantled when the church was superseded by a new, larger church in the village. Only the south and east sides of the building are still extant, but these survive in good condition and show that this was a substantial church, even if the later building in the village was even more impressive.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Zawiyeh, Limestone Massif, Ruweiha, Syria
Baqirha C5th church
The C5th church at Baqirha possesses a bema and has so many outbuildings that it was erronously believed to be a monastery in the past. Today most of the walls have fallen and it is difficult to make out the floorplan of the building.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Baqirha, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Barisha, Limestone Massif, Syria
Baqirha C6th church
The settlement of Baqirha had two churches. The façade of the C6th church is perfectly preserved, but the rest of the church is obscured by foliage and fallen masonry. The village is on the high plateau facing the Syrian-Turkish border to the west.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Baqirha, C6th, Church, Jebel Barisha, Limestone Massif, Syria
Dar Qita
The Church of SS. Paul and Moses is an early C5th building in the village of Dar Qita on the plain near the contemporary Syrian-Turkish border. It has been used for stabling animals and a significant amount of stone has been stolen from the site.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Dar Qita, Jebel Barisha, Limestone Massif, St. Moses, St. Paul, Syria