Basilica Cistern

Basilica Cistern (HM1LEI)

Location: , İstanbul 34110 Fatih
Country: Turkey
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N 41° 0.507', E 28° 58.675'

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Inscription

Yerbatan Sarnıcı

English:
The Basilica Cistern was constructed by Eastern Roman Emperor I. Justinianus (527-565) in 542 A.D. to provide water requirement of the Great Palace. Due to the brilliance among the marble columns arising within the water, it was called as Yerebatan Cistern by the public. The name Basilica in foreign sources was said to come from the Ilius Basilica being close to the cistern.

Basilica Cistern is a huge building covering the area of 9.800 m2. Here there are 336 columns each of which is 9 meters high. The columns erected at intervals make 12 lines being 28 at each line.

Two Medusa heads used as a block under two columns at the northwestern edge of the cistern are one of the masterworks of sculpture of Roman Age. Many legends regarding Medusa based on mythology makes this cistern more mysterious. The Cistern was repaired several times as yet. In the era of Ottoman Empire, it was restorated (sic) twice and one of them was made by Architect Kayserill Mehmet Aga in the era of Ahmed III (1723). The second restoration was in the era of Sultan Abduihamid II (1876-1909). In Republican Period, the cistern was cleaned by Istanbul Municipality in 1987 and opened for visit.

Basilica Cistern, besides being a museum, also hosts various national and international events.


Turkish:
Yerebatan Sarnıcı, M.S 542 yılında Doğu Roma İmparatoru l. Justinianus (527-565) tarafından Büyük Saray'in su ihtiyacını karşılamak üzere yaptırılmıştır. Suyun içinden yükselen mermer sütunların arasındaki dolayı halk tarafından Yerebatan Sarayı olarak da anılmaktadır. Yabancı kaynaklarda geçen Basilika (Basilica) isminin ise sarnıcın yakınında bulunan Ilius Basilikası'ndan geldiği rivayet edilir.


Yerebatan Sarnıcı 9.800 m2'lik bir alanı kapsayan dev bir yapıdır. Burada her biri 9 metre yüksekliğinde 336 sütun bulunmaktadır. Belirli aralıklarla dikilen bu sütunlar, her sırada 28 tane olmak üzere 12 sıra meydana getirmektedir.


Sarnıcın kuzeybatı köşesindeki iki sütunun altında kaide olarak kullanılan iki Medusa başı Roma Çağı heykeltıraşlık sanatının şaheser örneklerinden biridir. Medusa'yla ilgili mitolojiye dayandırılan birçok efsane bu sarnıcı daha d onarımlardan geçmiştir. Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Dönemi'nde iki defa restore edilen sarnıcın ilk onarımı III. Ahmet zamanında (1723) Mimar Kayserili Mehmet Ağa'ya yaptırılmıştır. İkinci onarım ise Sultan ll. Abdülhamit (1876-1909) zamanında olmuştur. Cumhuriyet Dönemi'nde de sarnıç 1987'de İstanbul Belediyesi tarafından temizlenmiş ve bir gezi platformu yapılmak suretiyle ziyarete açılmıştır.

Yerebatan Sarnıcı, müze olmanın yanında ulusal ve
uluslararası birçok etkinliğe ev sahipliği
yapmaktadır.

Arabic: To read the Arabic text, click on the Arabic image to enlarge it.
Details
HM NumberHM1LEI
Tags
Placed ByIstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality)
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, June 29th, 2015 at 2:01pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)35T E 666329 N 4541579
Decimal Degrees41.00845000, 28.97791667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 41° 0.507', E 28° 58.675'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds41° 0' 30.42" N, 28° 58' 40.5" E
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)352, 239
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling South
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 13 Yerebatan Cd., İstanbul 34110, TR
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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