Yerebatan Saray Cistern Istanbul

 

It may not sound very interesting: a cistern built to hold water to supply the Great Palace, and later Topkapi Palace with water, but we at Istanbul Hotel Booker believe this is a little part of Istanbul which you won’t want to miss!

 

Where to Stay

Yerebatan Saray Cistern (also called the Basilica Cistern or the Sunken Palace) is situated on the historic peninsula, very close to Aya Sofya.

Choose an Istanbul hotel on Sultanahmet to be closest to the cistern; either the area around the Hippodrome or in Cankurtaran would be perfect. If you can’t find a hotel here with availability which suits your budget, you can stay further up the peninsula on Divan Yolu Caddesi. This is just as good a location for your hotel in Istanbul because Yerebatan Saray Cistern is actually just off this road and this is also the route the tram takes.

 

When to Go

Yerebatan Saray Cistern is open every day from 9am to 5pm and is quite busy at most times so there isn’t really a best time to visit to avoid the crowds.

Because it’s a bit cooler down here, you may like to visit during the hottest part of the day to escape the sun for a while; otherwise it’s a good place to visit on the way in or out of your Istanbul hotel because a visit doesn’t take too long.

 

About Yerebatan Saray Cistern

Yerebatan Saray Cistern is one of several cisterns under Istanbul, though this is the most impressive and the most excavated. It’s believed that it was built in the 4th century by Emperor Constantine, and later enlarged by Justinian in the 6th century. Aqueducts supplied water into the cistern which in turn provided water for the Palaces.

The cistern fell into disrepair, though in 1987 restorations began and in the 1990’s the walkways and lighting you’ll see there today were installed.

 

What to See

Yerebatan Saray Cistern is the largest underground cistern in the city and features 336 marble columns. It measures 140 by 70 metres and can hold 80,000 cubic metres of water. It’s believed that construction material was taken from various other places because there are differences in some of the columns, and in the far corner you’ll spot a couple of medusa heads underwater which don’t appear to have been there for decoration. Beneath your feet you’ll also see many large fish!

Fans of James Bond films may remember this place from the 1963 film ‘From Russia With Love’!