Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern, in Istanbul

The Basilica Cistern is one of the most mysterious and fascinating places of Istanbul, an immense underground water reservoir of the Byzantine era. The Istanbul audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this work built in the sixth century for the emperor Justinian I, supported by hundreds of marble columns, that supplied the great palace and was rediscovered after centuries of oblivion.

History

Here you are in front of the mythical Basilica Cistern, doubtless the most mysterious and intriguing place of Istanbul. It is a water reservoir built for the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in the sixth century; it is called Basilica Cistern because it rises on the site of a former religious building. This cistern measures one hundred and forty metres long by seventy wide, that is a surface of nine thousand eight hundred square metres, for a storage capacity of seventy-eight thousand cubic metres of water, supported by twelve rows of twenty-eight marble columns eight metres high. This was needed to meet the needs of the great palace during the Byzantine period. The water came from the region of the forests of Belgrade, nineteen kilometres away, by two aqueducts. After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, the cistern served for a time the palace of Topkapi, before falling into oblivion when the Ottomans built their own network. It was rediscovered in the sixteenth century by a Dutch archaeologist come to excavate the ruins of Byzantium, and is visited today in a muffled and astonishing atmosphere.

What to see

Here you descend into an immense Byzantine underground reservoir built in the sixth century for Justinian I, one hundred and forty metres long and supported by three hundred and thirty-six marble columns; it supplied the great palace with water come by aqueducts from the forests of Belgrade, and was rediscovered in the sixteenth century. The Basilica Cistern is one of the most fascinating places of Istanbul. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Basilica Cistern lies to the west of Hagia Sophia, in the Sultanahmet district, reachable on foot. The access is paying and the hours vary according to the season. It is best to enquire before coming and to plan good shoes, the floor being able to be damp.

Why was the Basilica Cistern of Istanbul built?

It was built in the sixth century for the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in order to supply with water the great palace of Constantinople, a city regularly besieged that needed vast reservoirs; the water arrived there from the forests of Belgrade by two aqueducts, and the work, one hundred and forty metres long and supported by hundreds of marble columns, was rediscovered in the sixteenth century.

Where is the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul?

To the west of Hagia Sophia, in the Sultanahmet district, in Istanbul, in Turkey.