Istanbul hotels review → Istanbul hotels close to Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)
Istanbul hotels close to Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)
Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici) – underground greatness
Here are seven facts about the Yerebatan reservoir that you need to know
Yerebatan is a unique place, underground greatness. It’s one of the most important places of Istanbul. Some people come just to spend one night in Istanbul, see Basilica Cistern on the next day and leave in the evening. It is really worth it! Yerebatan is a majestic Cathedral that existed even before the Christianity. Later it went under ground and the authorities used it as a reservoir. Nowadays the water is gone and you can feel the time standing here under ground among antique columns...
... many years in Constantinople, because of the lack of drinking water in Byzantium, water supply was a very hard and expensive thing that caused a lot of trouble. They were getting water in the city from the Belgrade forests which are located pretty far from Istanbul, 25 kilometers away. That’s why there was a great possibility that water could be spoilt or poisoned and canals could be ruined during the wars and attacks that took place very often in Byzantium. To solve this problem people started building reservoirs in peaceful times.
... in Constantinople water was delivered into tanks in underground reservoirs via water pipes. Right under water meter there is the biggest and most known cistern, the one we are talking about – Yerebatan cistern. In the 4th century there was a church right here...
Basilica Cistern is a favorite place not only for tourists but also for film-makers. Do you remember the movie "From Russia with love"? James Bond passed by on a boat right here. Andron Konchalovsky shot here the scenes for his movie "The Odyssey", namely the scene in hell with a lot of scary things going on in the light of the torches reflected in water. This huge dungeon with a lot of columns and water dripping from the ceiling makes a great impression..
... archeologists found about 40 underground cisterns in total in Istanbul. The Yerebatan cistern-basilica was found absolutely accidentally. In the 16th century authorities decided to check how it is possible that people living in the houses built at this place could get fish right out of the holes in the ground...
... the building of the Yerebatan reservoir was finished in year 532 for a couple of months. The water comes here from the Valencia viaduct. The reservoir was in use until the 16th century. In Osman times they stopped using the reservoir and did its restoration by the middle of the 19th century.
You can get a room in an Istanbul hotel near Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici) and be really close to the main historic attractions. Yerebatan is located right in the center of Istanbul, in Sultanahmet area, next to Aya Sophia and Blue Mosque.
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