Basilica Cistern & Hagia Sophia

Roman Emporer Justinian reputedly had a personality complex and had built monstrous architectural marvels like Hagia Sophia and a massive underground water cistern which kept the city of Constantinople in fresh water for a long time. This was in the 6th century. and both still standing after 1700 odd years. Travelling with three engineers we had to visit 😂

Hagia Sophia been a mosque since 2020 so we dressed conservatively. Rach and I got a lecture from Eric for trying to find a way upstairs 😕 the tour guide told us there was treasure.

The cistern was not used for centuries and was stumbled across in 1980's?? How could you miss it like ...

What I really liked about the Roman empire is their resourcefullness in using old columns and chunks of marble from other sites to build the cistern columns, hence the two Medusa heads that were chucked under two columns.

Got a bit excited by all the bling at the Grand Bazaar so no photos taken.

Video included of the call to prayer 5-6 times a day. I actually quite liked it.Read more