[1] The basilica is on the slopes of Ayasuluk Hill, right next to the İsa Bey Mosque, just below the fortress near the centre of Selçuk, İzmir Province, Turkey and about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from Ephesus.

[2] Ayasuluk Hill is believed to have been the site of the Late Bronze Age city of Apasa, capital of the Kingdom of Arzawa.

[3][4] Little is known about the Basilica of St. John, with its only source being from a small description[5] provided by Procopius in one of his works, Buildings, whereupon he writes: Construction of the church began by 548 and was completed by 565.

As the leading ecclesiastical theoretician and writer of his day, it was possible that he gained the influence of Justinian and had the tomb of St. John reconstructed, as major construction in Asia Minor was rare.

The use of timber-roofed towers that were placed over the bay preceding the chancel and the altar had been adopted as well since the course of the 5th century.

[11] Even after the reign of Justinian, decorations were still added, most notably by Justin II and Tiberius II[7] The most striking feature of the basilica is its massive apse attached to the eastern piers of the crossing with an encircling passage between its two walls which is believed to have been tunnel-vaulted.

[7] Much like the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Basilica of St. John was based on the concept of multiplying the standard element, using short barrel-vaults to expand the square, domed bay into a cross shape.

[14] The north side of the church also had a large octagonal baptistery, resembling that of Saint Mary.

Numerous parts of the Basilica were of different arrangement, which gave the impression of a large quantity of beautiful enormous oriental carpets[10] covering the entire church “in a fairy-like manner”.

[10] His legend was furthered when the opening of his tomb during Constantine’s reign yielded no body or relics.

[17] The stories of St. John and the “manna” continued to grow and even caught the attention of St. Augustine, who could not dismiss them outright.

[17] The Anglo-Saxon Willibald, who later became a bishop and a saint, also heard of this and was one of the first many recorded pilgrims to the tomb of St.

They were used to collect the dusts that would appear around St. John's tomb, which was then carried back to the pilgrims respective homeland where it was said to have performed miracles by curing sickness and even calm storms on land or sea.