Guess where this is?

[Brian Ellis]

Latin America? Mexico maybe?

Not Latin America

[Brian Ellis]

OK, clue time: W. Asia

[lecter]

By that, do you mean within the Middle East? Somewhere in Iran, maybe?

[Umfriend]

Turkey? Adana?

[Brian Ellis]

Not in Iran (or Iraq). Depends on your definition of Middle East. To be more precise, can we say Eastern Mediterranean, comprising everything East of a line joining the Greco-Turkish border to the Libya-Egyptian border with a Med littoral? Now that narrows it down!

[Brian Ellis]

Turkey? Adana?

Turkey, yes - Adana, no.

[degrub]

Attaturk's house.

[Brian Ellis]

No, the original house was a LOT older than that. The house had collapsed from earthquake damage, but the foundations were still intact. The bottom two courses of stones (just visible in the photo) are the bottom of the original walls and the restored walls were reconstructed on them.

[JTD]

I know i'm new at this game, but i would still like to guess.

It's The House of Virgin Mary in Turkey in Ephesus (now known as Efes).

[Brian Ellis]

Indeed, it's Mother Mary's House, on a hill, about 15 km outside Ephesus. Legend has it that Jesus had asked his brother John (St John) to look after Mary after his execution. Persecution of the sect, later known as Christians, in the Holy Land was rife after the Crucifixion and a number of the apostles, disciples and other followers fled. It is known that St John fled to Ephesus (hence Paul's writing to the Ephesians) and it is believed that Mary went with him, although there is no formal proof.

This site was discovered after a vision of a German nun in the early 19th c, with all sorts of mystic but circumstantial evidence. What is sure is that the original house was built between 30 and 50 AD and was of a style common in the Holy Land at that time. Artefacts found during the excavations in the late 1800s suggest that it was a matriarchal habitation and there was contemporaneous evidence of very early Christian worship.

Some mid 1st c graves were found nearby. They all contained bones of women and the strange thing is that heads were all turned to face the house, as if it were a holy site. One of the graves was reputedly that of Mary herself, which would contradict the Biblical account of the Dormition and bodily Assumption into Heaven, but this is probably the most controversial aspect of the affair.

Whatever, the House is today a chapel devoted to the BVM and thousands of both Christians and Muslims pray here, especially on 15 August. The late Pope visited and prayed here.

I visited the site about 10 years ago and was impressed by the faith that has made this a place filled with obvious sanctity in quite a low key. I leave it open as to whether Mary actually lived and died here with the note that it was not impossible. We shall never have the proof one way or the other.

Your turn to post a photo, JTD!

[JTD]

Ok. Here's one.

Name the church.

[degrub]

Cologne ?

[Nowhere]

Roskilde Cathedral

[JTD]

Roskilde Cathedral

You're right (i knew it was too easy )

Your turn Nowhere.

[Nowhere]

ooops, forgot a bit about this, I have some things to do here
Picture coming up soon