Shorts at religious sites

I did not go to the shrine but I believe modest clothing for men and women is appropriate and potentially enforced. That means no shorts or sleeveless tops no matter how hot it is. Often but not always places with a code also lend, sell or rent disposable cover ups (eg paper). If you are making any stops at mosques any females in your group will need a head scarf and everyone will need modest clothing. Check each site for attire requirements. I don't recall any dress code at Ephesus.

I googled it and it says as an active holy shrine, The House of Mary requires modest clothing covering shoulders and knees. As I expected.

Just as you would at a church or mosque- definitely no shorts. And it is not likely to be that hot in September anyway.

Too bad they will be wasting your time at the Shrine of Mary when you could be spending more time in Ephesus!

The shrine of Mary is a small stone building with some icons and candles set in a forested site. You reach it by passing cafes and souvenir shops. I would say that 70% of my group did not go into the shrine. That would have been the location where any dress code would have been enforced. The rest of the complex it did not matter

Most sat at the cafes having a snack and enduring this time before we could get where we really wanted to go, Ephesus.

Ephesus will not disappoint and I would give my opinion that we know it is an authentic site with strong connections to early church history, while the house of Mary is mere legend.

When I was in Turkey, I saw a man wearing a long skirt at one of the religious sites. He wore it because he had shorts on underneath, and they would not let him in. So I would suggest not wearing shorts.

I live and die in shorts but when I visited any of the religious sites in Turkey I simply wore a pair of lightweight linen trousers. You can even take a pair with you and change into them if you don't want to wear them all day as they're light and don't look bad being slightly creased.