The Basilica Cistern of Istanbul is the largest and most well-known structure. It is located around the corner from Hagia Sophia in the Sultanahmet area and is also called the Yerebatan Sarayi, or sunken palace. No other building is quite like it. Descending those stairs, visitors feel like they are entering another world. The quiet ambience, majestic columns, and fish seem surreal compared to the busy city streets above.
Built in 537 AD by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, the building supplied water to the Byzantine palace on the First Hill. Apparently, 7000 slaves were set to work to construct the marvel. However, the Ottomans invaded in 1453 and didn't find much use for it. Hence, the underground building fell into disrepair and was out of sight. But that wasn’t the end of its story.
About the Basilica Cistern of Istanbul
In 1565, Frenchman Peter Gyllius rediscovered the building purely by accident. Peter was intrigued when people got water from holes in their basements and caught fish! He decided to investigate and, much to his surprise, came across the underground reservoir. Once again forgotten about, it would be many years before cleaning and restoration took place, but the Byzantine Basilica Cistern opened to the Istanbul public in 1987 as a museum. Since then, thousands of people have visited every week to see the marvellous ancient structure for themselves.
The Famous Heads of Medusa
Entry to Yerebatan Basilica Cistern Museum is via steps under Istanbul city. Once underground, there are several walkways to explore. However, the most essential sight is probably in the left-hand corner. Here, you will see two Medusa heads. Medusa, a character from Greek mythology, was a Gorgon with snakes for hair who could turn anyone who looked directly at her into stone. One Medusa head is upside down whilst the other tilts to the side. Why they are here and where they came from remains an unknown mystery, but they are spectacular.
Symbolic Interpretations
Historians have a theory that part of the structure was built using stones from the old temple of Artemis in Selcuk on the Aegean coast. The Roman practice of spolia refers to repurposing materials, particularly architectural elements, from older buildings or monuments. The practise known as spolia, from the Latin word spolium, meaning "spoil" or "booty" means "spoils" or "loot," involves taking materials from older, often defeated, structures and incorporating them into new buildings. This was done for various practical, aesthetic, and political reasons. However, by the time of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, Christianity had come to the Byzantine Empire, and the temple just had no more use, hence the reasons why stones could have been used.
Engineering and Functionality
Built to ensure a constant water supply, especially during sieges or droughts, this necessity drove the impressive design and construction. Covering 9,800 square metres with the capacity to store approximately 80,000 cubic metres of water, the building is supported by 336 marble columns, each about 9 metres high, arranged in 12 rows of 28.
Topped with Corinthian and Doric style capitals, reflecting architectural styles prevalent at that time, the ceiling consists of brick vaults, which distribute the weight evenly. Fed by aqueducts that transported water from the Belgrade Forest, 19 kilometres north, this complex system of aqueducts and filtration facilities highlights advanced hydraulics by Byzantine engineers. The floor, made of a thick layer of waterproof mortar, prevents water from seeping. The walls also feature a unique "Horasan mortar," for durability and resistance.
The Visit by Mark Twain
Mark Twain visited Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) during his travels through Europe and the Holy Land, which he documented in his book The Innocents Abroad (1869). This book is a humorous account of Twain’s journey through Europe, the Middle East, and parts of the Mediterranean. Twain describes the "Yerebatan Sarayı" or the "Sunken Palace" as part of his observations about the exotic and unfamiliar sights he encountered during his travels. He refers to it in his typically witty, irreverent style.
Here's a snippet from the book…
"This cistern is a very curious and interesting structure, with its rows of marble columns and subterranean water reservoir, which you may look down into from the great platform above and fancy yourself in a mighty palace built for the entertainment of an emperor. You are forty feet underground and amid a perfect wilderness of tall, slender, granite columns of Byzantine architecture. Stand where you would, or change your position as often as you pleased, you were always a centre from which radiated a dozen long archways and colonnades that lost themselves in the distance and sombre twilight.”
James Bond From Russia with Love
The 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love, starring Sean Connery as 007, has a scene here. In the movie, James Bond is pursuing Tatiana Romanova, a Soviet consulate clerk who has defected and is supposedly aiding him in a mission to obtain a cryptograph machine (the "Lektor") from the Soviets. SPECTRE, the secret organisation of villains, is pursuing the two. One climactic scene involves Bond and Tatiana escaping into the building to evade their enemies.
Bond and Tatiana are in a small boat, and the camera captures the monumental scale and eerie quietness. The columns, lit by dim light from above, create a moody, suspenseful atmosphere. The atmospheric setting is well-suited for a spy thriller's dramatic, tense chase sequence. The producers used locations that conveyed global intrigue.
Scene from Inferno Film
In Inferno (2016), directed by Ron Howard, Tom Hanks's character, Robert Langdon, finds himself in the cistern. Langdon, a Harvard symbologist, is embroiled in a mysterious plot involving Dante's Divine Comedy and a global conspiracy centred around a dangerous viral outbreak. The scene occurs toward the end after Langdon and Sienna Brooks (played by Felicity Jones) decipher various clues, leading them to a hidden secret about Dante’s work.
Langdon and Sienna enter the underground Basilica Cistern, which is a key location due to its connection to the clues they are chasing. The movie uses the historical structure to build tension as they race against time to find a hidden object—a “key” to the mystery that Langdon must unlock to stop a global catastrophe tied to the mystery of Dante's vision of hell.
This scene is significant because it is in the final moments when Langdon is close to unlocking the secret plaguing them throughout the movie. The movie also uses the eerie, maze-like quality to mirror the confusion and uncertainty that Langdon is experiencing due to his amnesia and the high stakes. The scene is filled with tension, and the cinematic use adds to the thrill and suspense.
Summary - What is unique about the Basilica Cistern?
Also called Yerebatan Sarnıcı in Turkish, the impressive Byzantine engineering and sophisticated management system were crucial for sustaining the Eastern Roman Empire. The underground marvel measures approximately 140 metres long and 70 metres wide, covering 9,800 square metres, with 336 marble columns standing about 9 metres tall and arranged in 12 rows. Often described as having an almost "cathedral-like" quality, the still water reflects the columns and creates captivating visual effects when lit at night.
Also Visit Nearby
Hagia Sophia: To aptly describe the Hagia Sophia mosque and museum in Istanbul’s old city part is impossible. The Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) is a structure that defies belief and has to be seen with the naked eye to understand its beauty fully. From the 6th-century construction as a Christian cathedral and one of the most extraordinary Byzantine structures ever built to the 20th-century conversion into a Turkish secular museum, the Hagia Sophia transitioned from the Ottoman Empire’s ashes into one of Turkey’s most visited tourist attractions.
The Blue Mosque: Sitting across from the Hagia Sophia and also called the Sultanahmet mosque, this 17th-century structure draws admiration from all who step inside. Nicknamed the Blue Mosque because of the stunning interior tiles, this fully practising place of worship is one of Istanbul’s top tourist attractions and the most famous mosque in Turkey.
Topkapi Palace: From the Byzantine royal family to the Ottomans, the Topkapi Palace was where they ruled their empire for nearly 400 years. Touring the palace is a marvellous insight into the Ottomans' religious and cultural beliefs and how life was in Constantinople during their reign. After touring the Basilica cistern of Istanbul, it is also a great place to visit.
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