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Choose the visit option that suits you best. With the Skip-the-Ticket-Line Entry Ticket, you can enter the Basilica Cistern on your own and explore at your own pace. With the Guided Entry option, you enter the cistern with a guide, receive a short introduction, and learn key details about this historic underground landmark before continuing your visit.

The Basilica Cistern is a fascinating ancient underground reservoir located southwest of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I between 527 and 565, it is also known locally as the Yerebatan Cistern, referring to its sunken, marble-columned interior. The name Basilica Cistern comes from the basilica that once stood above it.

The cistern is massive, stretching 140 metres in length and 70 metres in width, covering an area of 9,800 square metres. Visitors access it via a staircase of 52 steps. Inside, you are surrounded by 336 columns, each standing 9 metres tall and arranged in 12 rows. The columns, mostly made of marble, were taken from earlier buildings and feature a mix of Corinthian and Doric styles.

The cistern’s brick walls rise 4.80 metres high, and the floor is covered with a thick layer of brick dust mortar to make it watertight. With a storage capacity of 100,000 tonnes of water, the Basilica Cistern once supplied water to the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings in the area.

One of the most intriguing features of the cistern is the two Medusa heads found at the northwest end, supporting columns. Believed to be from the Roman period, their exact origins remain unknown. According to Greek mythology, Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, whose gaze could turn people to stone. This mysterious detail adds a legendary atmosphere to one of Istanbul’s most impressive underground landmarks.