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The Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is one of Istanbul’s treasures. It’s located southwest of Hagia Sophia in the Sultanahmet area of the UNESCO World Heritage listed old city.
History of the Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern was built in the middle of the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. It receives its name from a 3rd or 4th century basilica that once stood in its place. The cistern provided water filtration for the Great Palace of Constantinople and also continued to provide water to Topkapi Palace for a short time after the Fall of Constantinople. Over 7,000 slaves were used in its construction.
The Basilica Cistern went unused for many years because the Ottomans preferred running water over still water. It’s said that people who owned houses above the cistern would drop buckets into holes in the floor to retrieve water, and some would even catch fish. Others would even go inside and row boats using lanterns to light their way.
The Basilica Cistern was “rediscovered” by French naturalist Petrus Gyllius. It was restored during the reigns of Ahmed III and Abdülhamid II. From 1985 to 1987, the city cleaned and restored the cistern once again and turned it into a museum. The Basilica Cistern underwent another extensive restoration and reopened to the public on July 22, 2022.
Visiting the Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern is open to visitors daily from 9am to 10pm. Admission for foreigners is 800₺ from 9am to 6:30pm and 1,300₺ from 7:30pm to 10pm (as of May 2024). During the evenings, there’s a possibility to experience a surprise concert. Please note that the Museum Pass Istanbul is not accepted.
During holidays and the summer, I highly recommend purchasing tickets online in advance from the official website. If there’s a long queue up to the street corner, it could take up to an hour to get in. There are 52 stone steps to descend into the chamber, and the exit is across the street.
Features of the Basilica Cistern
The underground chamber is massive. It measures about 138 x 65 meters (453 x 213 feet), for an area of 9,800 square meters (105,000 square feet). It’s capable of holding 80,000 cubic meters of water (2,800,000 cubic feet).
There’s a collection of 338 columns holding up the ceiling. They’re arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns each, spaced five meters (16 feet) apart. Each column is nine meters (16 feet) high.
Most columns were probably recycled from other structures and may have come from all over the Byzantine Empire. The majority are in the Ionic and Corinthian style, with a few Doric columns mixed in. Also most are rounded but I spotted a few square columns.
Look closely and you’ll find a few columns with inscriptions in Greek. They were once likely the lintel of a doorway. One in particular was a combination of a lintel on the bottom half and a Corinthian column on the top half.
Crying Column
There are a few columns to keep an eye out for. One of them is the Crying Column, which is also known as the Hen’s Eye Column. It contains engravings that appear to represent eyes and tears. According to ancient texts, the tears are a tribute to the hundreds of slaves who died during construction of the cistern. However, it’s more likely to have come from the Triumphal Arch of Theodosius I at the nearby Forum of Theodosius (now Beyazıt Square). The arch featured columns just like it and it had collapsed by 558, around the time the cistern was under construction.
Medusa Columns
In the northwest corner of the Basilica Cistern are the two most famous columns. They were discovered between 1985 and 1987 and feature Medusa heads as column bases. Nobody knows their origin but they date to the late Roman period. One was placed sideways while the other is upside-down.
Art Installations
With major renovations come changes, and the Basilica Cistern is not exempt. In the past, there was simply a path through the cistern to the Medusa heads and back to the exit. It was dimly lit and creepy. Today, there are art installations and surprise evening concerts. Both have added to the special atmosphere of the cistern. The lighting is also much improved although it’s still creepy to some visitors
