Ephesus: City of the Great Diana, John the Evangelist, and Isa Bey

Ephesus boasted a pilgrimage shrine to Kybele-Artemis (the Great Diana) since most ancient times. It was this shrine that assured Ephesus its status as a religious, mercantile, and banking megalopolis of the Roman Empire. The city survived the destruction of the temple; and after the Empire went Christian, the Basilica of St.

John became the new pilgrimage shrine for the new religion.