Basilica Cistern

Overview

A few steps below the noise of Sultanahmet, the air turns cool and damp. Your eyes adjust, and a forest of columns appears, rising from still water and fading into the dark. Drops fall from the brick vaults, fish move in the shallows, while at the far end two stone faces of Medusa stare from the base of the columns. The Basilica Cistern is an atmospheric place, but its builders simply meant it to store water.

Most of its 336 columns came from older buildings, so their capitals mix Ionic and Corinthian styles. Two Medusa heads still puzzle historians at the far end. Today, walkways and lighting lead you through, and Hagia Sophia is a five-minute walk away.

The Basilica Cistern, Briefly

The Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı, “the sunken palace”, in Turkish) lies across the tram line from Hagia Sophia, in the historic peninsula of Istanbul. It takes its name from a great public building, the Stoa Basilica, which once stood above it. Emperor Justinian I built the cistern in the 6th century, and today it belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Historic Areas of Istanbul. He built it so that the Great Palace and the buildings around it would have water. For two smaller cisterns nearby, see our Istanbul cisterns tour.

Opening hours and evening sessions can change, so check the current arrangements before you go.

Fifteen Hundred Years Under the Street

Water for an imperial city

Constantinople stood on a peninsula with few springs, so its emperors had to bring water from far away. The water for the Basilica Cistern came from the Belgrad Forest, about 19 kilometers (12 miles) north of the city. It flowed through channels and over aqueducts, including the Valens Aqueduct that still crosses the city today. Then it filled giant underground reservoirs like this one, which kept the palace supplied even in summer or in a siege.

Recycled columns

Most of the 336 columns came from older buildings. That explains why their capitals mix different styles, Ionic and Corinthian, and why some shafts are smooth while others are carved. Byzantine builders had a whole empire of ruins to reuse, and they did so without hesitation.

Forgotten and found again

After the Ottoman conquest, the cistern was gradually forgotten, although houses above it still drew water through holes in their floors. In the 16th century, the French scholar Petrus Gyllius heard the stories, found the cistern and then had boatmen row him between the columns. He also wrote that fish swam in the water below him. Later, the Ottomans repaired the cistern more than once.

From silt to cinema

Eventually, by the 20th century, the Basilica Cistern was full of mud. A great restoration in the 20th century built walkways for visitors. Finally, a long restoration and earthquake strengthening closed the cistern in 2017, and it reopened in 2022.

Walking the Basilica Cistern: What to Look For

The forest of columns in the Basilica Cistern

Walk slowly along the raised path, then look down the rows of columns. The lighting changes the mood from gold to red, while the shallow water doubles everything in reflection. Stop now and then and listen: the dripping water is part of the experience.

The Medusa heads of the Basilica Cistern

In the northwest corner, two columns stand on giant carved heads of Medusa, the Gorgon whose gaze turned people to stone. One lies on its side, while the other is upside down. Nobody knows for certain why. Some say the builders simply turned the blocks to fit; others say they did it to cancel Medusa’s power. In any case, the heads probably came from a late Roman building and were never meant to be column bases. Our Roman Istanbul tour comes down here between the Hippodrome and the Column of Constantine.

The weeping column of the Basilica Cistern

After that, look for a column carved with eyes, slanted branches and drops that look like tears. People often call it the weeping column or the hen’s eye column. Some link the tears to the hundreds of enslaved workers who died building the cistern, but that is a legend, not history. The pattern recalls the columns of a triumphal arch of Theodosius I, which may be where it came from.

Art in the cistern

Since the 2022 reopening, the cistern has hosted contemporary art installations among the columns. They change over time, so ask what is on during your visit.

The Theodosius Cistern nearby

If you love the Basilica Cistern, walk ten minutes west to the smaller Theodosius Cistern (Şerefiye Sarnıcı), restored and opened to visitors in recent years; our Istanbul cisterns tour starts there. Together, the two show how much of Byzantine Istanbul still lies under the streets.

The Neighborhood Above the Lake

For centuries, the families living above the cistern did not know exactly what lay below. They simply lowered buckets through holes in their basements, and some even fished. Today the area above is all hotels and carpet shops, but that image of a neighborhood living on top of a hidden lake is worth keeping in mind as you walk the streets of Sultanahmet.

Day or Night in the Basilica Cistern?

By day, the Basilica Cistern feels like a cool cathedral under the street. In recent years, however, it has also opened for a separate evening session, often advertised as Night Shift, with darker light and deeper reflections. A day ticket does not cover it. Evening sessions and their times change, so check the current timetable before you build an evening around it.

Our favorite rhythm with guests is simple: Hagia Sophia in the morning light, a slow lunch, then back underground. The contrast between the bright square and the glowing columns is the whole point.

The cistern is also two minutes from the restaurants of Divanyolu. Among them is the Pudding Shop, the old meeting point of the hippie trail. Our Sultanahmet guide lists more places to eat, from home cooking to Ottoman palace cuisine.

How to Visit the Basilica Cistern

Planning your visit to the Basilica Cistern

• Location: across the tram line from Hagia Sophia; the entrance is a small building on Yerebatan Caddesi. The nearest stop is Sultanahmet on the T1 tram.
• Time needed: 40 to 60 minutes.
• Hours: we time your visit to the cistern and its evening sessions for you.
• Shoes: the paths can be damp, so wear shoes with grip.
• Light: it is dark inside; photos work best with steady hands and no flash.

Local tips for the Basilica Cistern

• Come at opening time or late in the afternoon.
• Visit after Hagia Sophia on a hot day, because the cistern stays cool all year.
• Look up at the vaults, not only at the Medusas.
• Add the Theodosius Cistern (Şerefiye) if you want the same atmosphere in a smaller hall.
• Find the double columns of the Binbirdirek Cistern, west of the Hippodrome.