| |
After waking up from their sleep, the men walked into the city of Ephesus and were shocked by all the churches that had been built. The Seven Sleepers died shortly after waking up and they were buried in the cave in which they had been sleeping for the seven years. This legend also appears in the Qur’an.
The cave that is associated with the Seven Sleepers is found on the eastern slope of Panayirdag hill and is infact a network of catacombs on several levels that were in use until the late Byzantine times.
It is a site for pilgrimage and many other people have also been buried there. In the 6th century a mausoleum was built next to the cave and there is also a brick church above the grotto. Between 1927 and 1930 excavations showed that the cave actually predated the legend by a few centuries and evidence such as lamps were found in the cave (some not Christian) that dated from before the 5th century.
Unfortunately, the cave is currently fenced off and can only be viewed from the perimeter pathway.
A visit to the Cave of the Seven Sleepers could be combined with a trip to the ancient city of Ephesus.
Both sites can be easily reached either by foot or taxi from Selcuk or by dolmuş from Kusadasi. Alternatively, Ephesus Tours www.ephesustours.biz provide a service for the whole of the Ephesus site which includes guides, private cars, lunch and guide books.
|
|
CITIES
