The Basilica Cistern

November 10th, 2009 at 4:35 am by David Farrar

This was a must see for me. Not the beauty of the palaces or the mosques, but a real link to the past.

The Basilica Cistern was constructed in the time of Emperor Justinian I, around 1500 years ago. It is quite huge – over 100,000 square feet, and has 336 marble columns. It is dimly lit and very very slippery. So tread carefully. Photo from Wikipedia.

The highlight are the two columns with a Medusa head at their base. One is upside down, and one is on its side. They were only discovered in 1987 when a metre of mud was cleared out. As a long time fan of Greek mythology, I loved seeing an ancient carving. Photo from Wikipedia.

There is also a cafe in the cistern for those who want to dine underground and watch the fish swim about.

Tags: DPF, Middle East, Turkey

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2 Responses to “The Basilica Cistern”

MikeNZ (3,234) Says:
November 10th, 2009 at 9:49 am
The Cistern looks very peaceful
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Sam Buchanan (435) Says:
November 10th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Yeah, lovely place, cool and relaxing with the bonus of the mildly surreal Terry Gilliamesque spare stone heads as column pedastals.
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