Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)
Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Istanbul. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Istanbul Istanbul guide
About Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)
A 6th-century underground reservoir from Justinian's Constantinople, the Basilica Cistern holds 336 marble columns and two mysterious carved Medusa heads set sideways and upside down in one corner.
The Basilica Cistern is the largest of the surviving ancient cisterns beneath Istanbul, built in the 6th century under the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Its name comes from the Stoa Basilica, a public square and colonnade that once stood above it on the First Hill, about 150 metres southwest of Hagia Sophia. The chamber measures roughly 138 by 65 metres and could hold around 80,000 cubic metres of water, which fed the Great Palace and, later, Topkapi Palace.
The brick vaults are carried by 336 marble columns, each about 9 metres tall, arranged in 12 rows of 28. Many are reused stone from older Roman buildings, so their capitals mix Ionic, Corinthian and a few Doric styles. In the northwest corner, two column bases are carved with the head of Medusa, one set on its side and the other upside down; their origin is unknown. The cistern was largely forgotten until the French traveller Petrus Gyllius documented it in the 16th century.
Did you know? Brick vaults rest on 336 marble columns, each about 9 metres tall in 12 rows of 28; many were salvaged from older Roman buildings, so their capitals mix Ionic, Corinthian and Doric styles.
How long is a visit to Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici) worth your time?
Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici) is among the 40 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Istanbul, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Istanbul
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Hear the story of Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)
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