Basilica Cistern

About Basilica Cistern

Cistern of Byzantine Constantinople

The Basilica Cistern, known in Turkish as Yerebatan Sarnici, the Sunken Palace, is the largest of the several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath Istanbul. It was built in the sixth century, around 532, in the reign of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I to store the city's water, and lies 150 metres south-west of Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula, covering about 9,800 square metres. The interior is like a sunken cathedral: 336 marble columns with varied carved capitals carry the vaults, most of them reused from older buildings, the most famous being the two inverted Medusa heads in the north-western corner and the "weeping column" carved with tear-like eyes. Visitors once explored by rowing boat; today the water is kept low and you follow raised walkways with atmospheric lighting, soft music and art installations, and the space occasionally hosts concerts and film shoots. The cistern remains one of Istanbul's most evocative sites, though heavy crowds take away some of its mystery, and some visitors prefer lesser-known cisterns such as the Theodosius or Binbirdirek cisterns.

Where:

Istanbul, Türkiye