Basilicia Cistern

Turks call it Yerebatan Sarayi (yeh-reh-bah-tahn sah-rah-yuh) which means "sunken palace". Because it was built on the site of an earlier basilica it is often called the "Basilica Cistern"

This vast underground reservoir dates back to Byzantine Emperor Justinian's reign in the sixth century A.D.




Built to supply Constantinople's need for water, this giant reservoir was big enough to hold 27 million gallons of fresh water. Clay pipes and aqueducts brought water 12 miles to the reservoir.

The cistern is as big as two football fields sand has 336 columns, most recycled from Roman ruins in the city, resulting in a variety of capitals.

Today the cistern is a shallow pond, filled with rain water that seeps through the ceiling (and down on your head). The walk around was fascinating with the soft lighting and reflections

There are good-luck coins and fish, too

Startlingly, a medusa heads is found at the base of two separate columns. Speculation is that the architect needed two blocks of a certain height to go with two columns of a certain height and recycled the medusas. 

I'm sure the architect never imagined millions of tourists walking around the cistern looking at an upside-down medusa head! The other head is on its side.

Next door to the cistern in the Medusa Restaurant--head right side up!