UNDERGROUND ( BASILICA ) CISTERN

The Basilica Cistern or Yerebatan Cistern, as it is named today, was initially built by Constantine I, the founder of Constantinople. It was enlarged to more or less its present size during the Justinian period, in the sixth century. It is the largest covered cistern in the city, dating back to the Roman times. Its dimensions are 140 by 70 meters, and it is capable of holding 80.000 cubic meters of water. Its many domes are supported by 336 columns, most of which were hauled from many different corners of the Roman Empire from other classical structures, so that combined, they display a wide variety of styles. Major restorations and fortifications were made in 1987, during which a wooden platform permitting access to a much larger area of the cistern was built.