The Basilica Cistern is located southwest of Hagia Sophia, and it reopened its doors on July 23, 2022, after comprehensive restoration work. The Basilica Cistern brings together Byzantine architecture with modern works of art and welcomes its visitors again with its exciting atmosphere that showcases the multi-layered history of İstanbul.
History of the Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern bears traces of Byzantine architecture and was built by Justinian I (527-565). It sits on a plan 140 meters long and 70 meters wide. There are many columns in the structure, which was built to meet the water needs of Eastern Rome. It is known by the public as the "Basilica Cistern" because of the marble columns that rise out of the water with the effect of its mystical atmosphere and are perceived as innumerable. The building has the capacity to store approximately 100,000 tons of water with a total area of 9,800 m². There are 336 columns inside, which create the impression of being innumerable for the visitor. Each column has a height of 9 meters and is placed inside the cistern at intervals of 4.80 meters.
The Basilica Cistern was built in the Byzantine period and bricks were used with the Byzantine construction technique of 4.80 meters thick for walls and floors. The building became the water source of the garden of Topkapı Palace and was used for a while after the conquest of İstanbul in 1453.
The Rediscovery
The building was left to its own fate until the middle of the 16th century and did not use this building cause of the Ottomans, who preferred to be cleaned with running water instead of stagnant water due to the principles of Islamic cleanliness. But P. Gyllius rediscovered the cistern when visited Istanbul between 1544 and 1550 to explore the Byzantine ruins. While he was exploring Hagia Sophia, upon seeing that the people living there were drawing water from well-liked places. He researched the cistern and recorded the information and measurements that he gained by traveling by boat in the great cistern with the harsh conditions of that period.
Initial Repair Works
The building has undergone many repairs since its construction and it was repaired twice during the Ottoman Empire Period. A construction carried out between 1955 and 1960 in the Republican Period of Turkey determined 8 columns in the historical building to risk breaking, and then the columns were reinforced with concrete and completely closed. Between 1985 and 1987, a comprehensive renovation project was started by the İstanbul Municipality, and the cistern was opened to visitors after this 2-year period. Lastly, it was undergone major cleaning and maintenance in 1994.
Mystery of the Head of Medusa
Another element that makes the Basilica Cistern so interesting is the 'Medusa Head' with mysterious stories. The most well-known narration of the statue, about which there are many rumors, is as follows:
“In Greek mythology, there lived a girl named Medusa who made everyone jealous with her beauty and at the same time made all the gods fall in love with her, in the temple of Goddess Athena, the favorite daughter of the Chief God Zeus. Athena was with the great Poseidon, lord of the seas. The powerful and immortal, great God Poseidon was also aware of this beautiful girl living in Athena's temple, but he also concealed his interest in her because he was in love with a mortal in the eyes of the Gods and was afraid of being belittled. One day, Athena learned about Poseidon's interest in Medusa. Athena felt humiliated by what Poseidon did. This feeling first turned into deep jealousy and then into a fit of great anger. He was so enraged that he decided to punish Medusa very bitterly. He turned Medusa and her sisters into demons. The faces of the most beautiful Medusa and her sisters are now so ugly that no one can bear to look at them. Every single strand of Medusa's beautiful hair has turned into a snake, which turns everyone who sees into a madman, and whose strands become airborne even in the slightest wind. Athena's anger made everyone who tried to look at Medusa still turn to stone, which did not settle with this. Athena was not satisfied with this punishment and she cooperated with Zeus' son Perseus to kill Medusa and had Medusa's head cut off. After Perseus cut off Medusa's head, he used her as a weapon for a while with the curse of turning it into stone.’’
Since her strong story instilled fear in her enemies, the Medusa statue was placed in the Basilica Cistern to protect the structure. In addition, it is rumored that the reason why the Head of Medusa is placed upside down is to prevent the people who look at it from turning into stone.
Current Renovation Works
The Basilica Cistern entered a major restoration process in 2020, which was at serious risk of collapse. It has been noticed that the tensile elements added in the restoration only progressed up to the column heads and did not show continuity of the Late Republican Period of Turkey. It has been stated that in the event of the great İstanbul earthquake collapses may occur. With the restoration work carried out reinforcement was provided the entrance area was expanded with glass eaves so that the busy visitor queue could wait more comfortably, the concrete visitor platform in the cistern was renewed and made more modern, and insulation works were applied to prevent water leaks from the ceiling on heavy rainy days.
The Basilica Cistern welcomes its visitors once again with its modern works of art and impressive lighting system and restoration works were completed on July 22, 2022. As DENDRO, we continue to compile our architectural and artistic articles and publish our articles on current issues on our page. You can visit www.dendro.com.tr/en to read our other interesting articles and to examine our wide range of laminate flooring products.
The images are taken from www.yerbatan.com.
References:
arkeofili.com
yerebatan.com
wikipedia.org
