The house of the Virgin Mary is a pilgrimage site close to the ancient ruins of Ephesus and is considered to be the place where Mary, the Mother of Jesus, lived and died after being taken there by Saint John. The house is now a chapel and a side room is understood to have been where she slept. The site first came to prominence when a German nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, had a vision and described the house in detail despite having never visited. Her visions were published in a book and, later, local historians and priests found a house which matched the descriptions in the book.
Pilgrims to the church leave their offerings on tissue tied to a wishing wall and sip from a water fountain said to have miraculous qualities for healing and fertility.