Seven Sleepers
CAVE OF SEVEN SLEEPERS - YEDI UYUYANLAR MAGARASI
The Grotto of the Seven Sleepers is located on Mount Pion, near Ephesus and is the site of many different religious myths. According to Christian legend, seven persecuted Christians fled from Ephesus and took refuge in a cave. When they were discovered the cave was sealed trapping them inside. Two centuries later after an earthquake, the cave was revealed and the seven sleepers awoke and wandered into town, only to discover their friends were dead and it was thought they had undergone some sort of resurrection, resulting in a cult following. In the Koran, it is stated that the sleepers slept for 309 years in their tombs and Christians built a church above the Grotto. Only after the excavations of the church were the tombs discovered.
The Grotto is actually a Byzantine necropolis, with tombs cut into the rocks. The area is well known for its famous Turkish pancakes - Gozleme.