Basilica Cistern: Cistern of Byzantine Constantinople
The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns under the city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), Turkey.
The cistern, is close to the Hagia Sophia.
History
Emperor Justinian I commissioned his city prefect Longinus to build it. It was completed in 532, after the Nika riots. As many as 7,000 slaves worked to build the cistern.
The large cistern provided a water source for the emperor's palace. Sometime before the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 the cistern was closed. It was discovered in 1545 by Petrus Gyllius. After that Ottoman city officials used it for dumping waste including corpses. It has been restored at least three times. In 1985 it was closed for cleaning again. In 1987 it was opened to the public as a tourist attraction. 2 million tourists visited the Cistern in 2013.
Size
The cistern is a huge underground room that measures about 138 metres (453 ft) by 64.6 metres (212 ft) It is about 10,000 square metres (2.5 acres) in area. The cistern can hold 80,000 cubic metres (21,000,000 US gal) of water. The ceiling is supported by 336 marble columns. Each one is 40.75 metres (133.7 ft) high.
Modern Culture
The cistern was used for a James Bond movie From Russia with Love. Also the 2009 movie The International was shot here. The 2011 video game, Assassin's Creed: Revelations includes scenes from the Basilica Cistern.
References
Other websites
- Basilica Cistern by Gizemli Kişi
- The Basilica Cistern, the Coolest Spot in Town
- Kerim Bey's Escape Route (Basilica Cistern) Archived 2015-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
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