TürkiyeEphesus

House of the Virgin Mary Ephesus: How to Get There, Hours and Tours

The House of the Virgin Mary is 7 km from Selçuk, has no bus and charges its own ticket. How to get there, how long to stay and the best order for the day.

Ayşe ArslanAuthor24 October 20269 min read

House of the Virgin Mary Ephesus: How to Get There, Hours and Tours — Photo: From bodrum port ephesus and virgin mary house full day tour

The House of the Virgin Mary stands on Bülbül Mountain about 7 km from Selçuk, has no public transport, and charges its own entrance fee at the gate, separate from the Ephesus ticket and the museum passes. Most visitors reach it by taxi or on a tour and spend 45 minutes to an hour there, then drive down to the Upper Gate of Ephesus, a few minutes away by road. Pilgrims and day visitors from cruise ships fill the small stone chapel from mid-morning, so the best time to arrive is at opening or late in the afternoon. Below is how to get there, how long to stay, what you will see and how the visit fits into an Ephesus day.

At a glance
Where	Bülbül Mountain (ancient Mount Koressos), about 7 km from Selçuk
Getting there	Taxi, rental car or tour; no public bus or dolmuş
Entry	Separate ticket at the gate; not covered by the Ephesus ticket or museum passes
Time needed	45–60 minutes, plus the drive
Best time	At opening or after 16:00
Combine with	Ephesus (Upper Gate), the Basilica of St John, Şirince
Dress	Covered shoulders and knees inside the chapel

The small stone House of the Virgin Mary with its arched doorway among trees on Bülbül Mountain near Ephesus

What the House of the Virgin Mary is, and why people come

According to a Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary was brought to Ephesus by St John and spent her last years here, in a stone house on the wooded slopes above the city. The building visitors see today is a small chapel restored on old foundations. It was identified in the late nineteenth century after a search inspired by the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German nun who died in 1824 and had never been to Turkey. A French priest, Julien Gouyet, located the ruins in 1881, and two Lazarist missionaries confirmed the identification in 1891.

The Catholic Church has never ruled on whether the house is authentic, but it has treated it as a place of pilgrimage for more than a century. Pope Leo XIII blessed the site in 1896, Pius XII declared it a Holy Place in 1951, and three popes have visited: Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II in 1979 and Benedict XVI in 2006.

Muslims also revere Mary, called Meryem Ana in Turkish, and many Turkish families visit the house. That mix is part of what makes the place unusual: Catholic pilgrims saying the rosary, Orthodox visitors lighting candles, and Turkish visitors tying wishes to the wall beside the spring.

How to get to the House of the Virgin Mary

There is no public bus or dolmuş to the house. The road climbs from the Ephesus area up Bülbül Mountain, and the house is about 7 km from the centre of Selçuk. Your options:

Taxi from Selçuk. Taxis work from the town centre. Many drivers offer a round trip with waiting time at the house, often combined with a drop-off at the Upper Gate of Ephesus. Agree the price before you set off.
Rental car. The road is paved and signposted. There is a car park below the entrance.
Tour. Almost every full-day Ephesus tour from Kuşadası, Selçuk or İzmir includes the house, as do our tours from Istanbul with flights.

From Kuşadası, the drive to the house takes about 30–40 minutes. From İzmir, plan about an hour and a quarter. Cruise passengers arriving at Kuşadası port usually do the house first and Ephesus second; our article on how much time Ephesus takes has a full timed plan for that day.

A statue of the Virgin Mary in a brick niche with candles and red flowers at the shrine on Bülbül Mountain

Tickets and opening hours

The House of the Virgin Mary is not a Ministry of Culture site. It does not appear on the Ministry's tariff table, it is not covered by the Ephesus ticket and the Museum Pass is not valid here. You pay a separate entrance fee at the gate, in Turkish lira, and the amount is set locally and changes from year to year. Published figures on travel sites disagree, so check on the day; if you come on one of our tours with tickets included, the fee is already paid.

Opening hours also vary by season. The house opens daily from the morning, with shorter hours in winter than in summer, and the ticket office closes before the gates do. On the Ephesus ticket prices for 2027 we reported the Ministry tariff for the ancient city and the Terrace Houses, which you will pay separately on the same day.

What you will see, and how long to stay

From the car park, a path under the trees leads past a bronze statue of Mary to the house itself. The chapel is small: one main room with an altar and a side room, and visitors walk through in a single line. Inside, it is a place of prayer, so people keep quiet and do not take photos. Shoulders and knees should be covered.

Below the house, steps lead down to the spring, where water runs from taps in a stone wall. Many visitors fill a bottle. Next to it is the wishing wall, covered with thousands of pieces of paper and cloth tied by visitors. There is also a place for candles and a small shop selling rosaries and souvenirs. Mass is held in the open-air area at certain times; if you want to attend, ask when you book and we will check the schedule for your date.

Forty-five minutes to an hour is enough for most people. Pilgrim groups who stay for prayer usually allow an hour and a half.

Rows of white candles burning in a metal stand in front of a stone wall at the House of the Virgin Mary

Private tour, small group or on your own: what to choose

	On your own	Private Ephesus day	2-day trip from Istanbul
Our price from	Taxi and tickets only	$300 per person	$675 per person
Transport	Taxi or rental car	Private van	Flights, transfers, van
Guide	None	Licensed guide	Licensed guide
Tickets	Pay at each gate	Extra, bought with skip-the-line help	Included
Best for	Independent travellers based in Selçuk	Cruise passengers, families, pilgrims	Visitors based in Istanbul

Doing it alone works if you are staying in Selçuk and are happy to arrange a taxi. A guide makes the bigger difference at Ephesus than at the house, but having the same vehicle for both saves the most time, because the house and the Upper Gate are on the same road and the walk through Ephesus ends at the Lower Gate, far from where you started. For travellers in Istanbul, the two-day trip with flights is the only realistic way to see the house, Ephesus and Pamukkale without losing three days to buses.

What this means for your trip

If the House of the Virgin Mary is the reason you are travelling, give it the morning. Arriving at opening means a quiet chapel, birdsong instead of tour group microphones and time at the spring before the coaches arrive from Kuşadası. Then drive down to the Upper Gate of Ephesus and walk downhill through the ancient city, which is easier on the legs than the other way round.

Visitors in December should know that the house draws extra visitors around Christmas; our report on Christmas in Turkey, with Ephesus, Demre and Istanbul covers that season. Those who have an hour left at the end of the day can continue to the hill village of Şirince, 8 km from Selçuk; our article on Şirince from Ephesus explains how.

Questions travellers are asking

How do you get to the House of the Virgin Mary?

You reach the House of the Virgin Mary by taxi, rental car or tour, because no public bus or dolmuş goes up Bülbül Mountain; it is about 7 km from Selçuk and a few minutes by road from the Upper Gate of Ephesus, so most visitors combine the two in one trip. Agree a taxi's return price before leaving.

How much is the entrance fee to the House of the Virgin Mary?

The House of the Virgin Mary charges its own entrance fee at the gate in Turkish lira, separate from the Ephesus ticket, and the Museum Pass is not valid there; the amount is set locally and changes, so check it on the day or choose a tour with all entrance tickets included in the price. Keep some lira or a card ready at the gate.

How long do you need at the House of the Virgin Mary?

Most visitors need 45 minutes to an hour at the House of the Virgin Mary, enough to walk through the small chapel, fill a bottle at the spring, see the wishing wall and light a candle, while pilgrim groups who stay to pray usually allow about an hour and a half. Add the drive up the mountain road.

Is the House of the Virgin Mary worth visiting?

The House of the Virgin Mary is worth visiting if you have an interest in Christian history or pilgrimage, or simply want to see a place revered by both Christians and Muslims, but travellers who only care about Roman ruins may prefer to spend the hour at Ephesus or the Terrace Houses instead. It is quietest at opening.

Did the Virgin Mary really live in Ephesus?

Whether the Virgin Mary lived in Ephesus is a matter of tradition rather than proof: the Catholic Church has never ruled on the house's authenticity, but it has treated the site as a place of pilgrimage since the late nineteenth century, and three popes, in 1967, 1979 and 2006, have visited. Muslims also revere Mary here.

Can you visit the House of the Virgin Mary and Ephesus on the same day?

Yes, the House of the Virgin Mary and Ephesus fit easily into one day, because the house sits on the road above the Upper Gate of the ancient city; visit the house first in the morning, then walk downhill through Ephesus from the Upper Gate to the Lower Gate in two to three hours. Plan six to eight hours in total.

What should I wear to the House of the Virgin Mary?

Dress as you would for a church: covered shoulders and knees inside the chapel, comfortable shoes for the path and the steps down to the spring, and a light layer, because the house is higher than Ephesus and the shaded mountain air feels cooler, especially from November to March. A scarf is useful for the wind.

Plan it with us

Our private Ephesus full-day tour includes the House of the Virgin Mary, a licensed guide and a private van with hotel pick-up, from $300 per person, with entrance tickets paid separately. Cruise passengers can book the private Ephesus shore excursion from Kuşadası from $300, with the ship's schedule guaranteed. From Istanbul, the Ephesus and Pamukkale 2-day tour with flights from $675 and the biblical Ephesus and Pamukkale tour from $720, which adds the Basilica of St John, both include the house and the entrance tickets.

Send us your dates and where you are staying on WhatsApp at +90 545 307 67 88; if you want to attend Mass at the house, tell us and we will plan the day around it.

Sources: history and papal visits from the shrine's published history and the Wikipedia entry on the House of the Virgin Mary, checked 24 October 2026; ticket status from the Ministry of Culture tariff for Ephesus.