Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern - There are hundreds of ancient cisterns hidden underneath the streets and houses of Istanbul. Of the two that are open to the... more

by Phyllis Taylor

Title

Basilica Cistern

Artist

Phyllis Taylor

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

The Basilica Cistern - There are hundreds of ancient cisterns hidden underneath the streets and houses of Istanbul. Of the two that are open to the public, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is the largest and Istanbul's most unusual tourist attraction.
Contrary to James Bond, who had to row his way through Istanbul underground cistern in From Russia with Love, you can take a stroll in the forest of hundreds of marble columns and enjoy the subterranean cool on a hot summer day.
The Basilica Cistern, which borrowed its name from the Ilius Basilica, is 143 meters long and 65 meters wide. The roof is supported by 336 marble columns, mostly in Ionic or Corinthian styles, each measuring 9 meters in length. Spaced at four-meter intervals, they are arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns each.

The cistern could hold 80.000 cubic meters of water, coming from the Eğrikapı Water Distribution Centre in the Belgrade Forest, 19 kilometers from the city.

The cistern was forgotten for centuries and only accidently rediscovered by the Frenchman Peter Gyllius in 1545. While researching Byzantine antiquities in the city, he noticed that people in the neighborhood not only got a hold of water by simply lowering buckets through holes in their basements, they miraculously sometimes even caught fish this way.

Uploaded

March 31st, 2016