Basilica Cistern

This morning we went for a nice walk to the Basilica Cistern this was a recommendation from one of the people went met on the cruise. I am glad we went as it is an incredible structure.

The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). The cistern was built in the 6th century. The subterranean cistern was called Basilica because it was located under a large public square on the First Hill of Constantinople, the Stoa Basilica. At this location, and prior to constructing the cistern, a great Basilica stood in its place, built between the 3rd and 4th centuries during the Early Roman Age as a commercial, legal and artistic centre. The basilica was reconstructed after a fire in 476.

Ancient texts indicated that the basilica contained gardens, surrounded by a colonnade and facing the Hagia Sophia. According to ancient historians, Emperor Constantine built a structure that was later rebuilt and enlarged by Emperor Justinian after the Nika riots of 532, which devastated the city. Historical texts claim that 7,000 slaves were involved in the construction of the cistern.

The enlarged cistern provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill, and continued to provide water to the Topkapı Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times. The cathedral size cistern is an underground chamber approximately 138 metres by 65 metres about 9,800 square metres in area capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water.

The ceiling is supported by a forest of 336 marble columns, each 9 metres high, arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns each spaced 5 metres apart. The tops of the columns are mainly Ionic and Corinthian styles, with the exception of a few Doric style with no engravings. One of the columns is engraved with raised pictures of a Hen's Eye, slanted branches, and tears. This column resembles the columns of the Triumphal Arch of Theodosius I from the 4th century. Ancient texts suggest that the tears on the column pay tribute to the hundreds of slaves who died during the construction of the Basilica Cistern. The majority of the columns in the cistern appear to have been recycled from the ruins of older buildings likely brought to Constantinople from various parts of the empire, together with those that were used in the construction of Hagia Sophia. They are carved and engraved out of various types of marble and granite.

Fifty-two stone steps descend into the entrance of the cistern. The cistern is surrounded by a firebrick wall with a thickness of 4 metres and coated with a waterproofing mortar. The Basilica Cistern's water came from the Eğrikapı Water Distribution Centre in the Belgrade Forest, which lies 19 km north of the city. The cistern has the capacity to store 100,000 tons of water. It is virtually empty today with only a few feet of water lining the bottom. The weight of the cistern lies on the columns by means of the cross-shaped vaults and round arches of its roof.

The Basilica Cistern has undergone several restorations since its foundation. The first of the repairs were carried out twice during the Ottoman State in the 18th century. The second major repair was completed during the 19th century (1876–1909). Cracks to masonry and damaged columns were repaired in 1968, with additional restoration in 1985 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Museum. During the 1985 restoration, 50,000 tons of mud was removed from the cisterns, and platforms built throughout to replace the boats once used to tour the cistern. The cistern opened to the public in its current condition on 9 September 1987.Read more