Many wonders of Istanbul’s Yerebatan Cistern

East longitude intersect, is the only city in the world which is established on two continents. The city consists of three parts in general. On the European side, the historical peninsula to the south of the Golden Horn and the Galata District to the north, and the new city on the Asian side.The city of […]

East longitude intersect, is the only city in the world which is established on two continents. The city consists of three parts in general. On the European side, the historical peninsula to the south of the Golden Horn and the Galata District to the north, and the new city on the Asian side.
The city of Istanbul is estimated to have 12-15 million people. And it is increasing by almost half a million yearly due to continuous migration from the rural areas.
 For a Nigerian visitor to the city, it could be compared to Lagos state interms of economic activities and population. Not many people, even know, that Ankara and not Istanbul is the capital of Turkey, the country where the two cities are located.
For any visitor to the historic city of Istanbul, one of the most seen tourist sites is Yerebatan Cistern. It is a great effort from the inhabitants of the city at the time it was constructed to think of how to store water underground in order to prevent enemies from poisoning or destroying it.
Yerebatan Mystery
There are hundreds of ancient cisterns hidden underneath the streets and houses of Istanbul. Of  the two that are open to the public, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is the largest and Istanbul’s most unusual tourist attraction.
The entrance to the Basilica Cistern of Istanbul is across the street from the Hagia Sophia, opposite the yellow building of the Tourist Police in Sultanahmet. This immense underground water container was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian I in 532 AD to meet the water needs of the Great Palace. This marvellous piece of engineering only confirms yet again that those were the heydays of the Byzantine Empire.
The Basilica Cistern, which borrowed its name from the Ilius Basilica, is 143 metres long and 65 metres wide. The roof is supported by 336 marble columns, mostly in Ionic or Corinthian styles, each measuring 9 meters in length. Spaced at four-metre intervals, they are arranged in 12 rows of 28 columns each.
The cistern can hold 80.000 cubic metres of water, coming from the Eğrikapı Water Distribution Centre in the Belgrade Forest, 19 kilometres from the city. The water was transported to the city centre via the 971-metre-long Valens Aqueduct (Bozdoğan Sukemeri) and the 11.545-metre-long Mağlova Aqueduct (MağlovaSukemeri), which was built by Emperor Justinian I.
The cistern was forgotten for centuries and only accidently rediscovered by the Frenchman Peter Gyllius in 1545. While researching Byzantine antiquities in the city, he noticed that people in the neighbourhood not only got a hold of water by simply lowering buckets through holes in their basements, they miraculously sometimes even caught fish this way.
Visiting the Yerebatan Sarnıcı
After cleaning and restoring the Basilica Cistern, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality opened it to the public in 1987. After descending into the underground water facility via a flight of stairs, visitors can take a stroll on the concrete walkways, enjoying the subdued lighting and the cool temperatures.
Make sure you walk all the way to the far left-hand corner of the cistern, to see the two Medusa heads. Both heads are casually used as column bases; one positioned upside down, the other tilted to the side. Both their positioning as their origin remain a mystery up till now, although rumour has it that they were recycled from an antique building of the late Roman period.
History of Medusa
Medusa, a sea nymph, was the most beautiful of the three gorgon sisters. She was courted by Poseidon, and made love to him in a temple of Athena.
Furious, Athena transformed Medusa into a monstrous chthonic beast with snakes instead of hair, whose frightening face could turn onlookers to stone. She was beheaded while sleeping by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until giving it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield.
Having coupled with Poseidon previously, two beings sprang from her body when she was beheaded. One, Pegasus, was a winged horse later tamed by Bellerophon, to help him kill the chimera. The other, Chrysaor of the Golden Sword, remains relatively unknown today.
In classical antiquity and today, the image of the head of Medusa finds expression in the evil-averting device.
The entrance of the Underground (Yerebatan) Cistern, which is the biggest of over 60 cisterns built in Istanbul during the Byzantine Period, is just across from Hagia Sophia Museum.
Since there were not enough water sources inside the Byzantine ramparts that surrounded the city, for ages, the water of the city was supplied from the rivers and sources in the Belgrade Forest, which is 25km.north of Istanbul.
During the wars and sieges, as the enemy soldiers used to destroy the ducts bringing water to the city or poison the water, large cisterns were constructed for storing water since the very beginning.
Yerabatan Cistern, which was completed in a very short time(only a couple of months) in 532, is the storage where the water was delivered to the city  through the Valens Aquaduct, is stored. It was used until the 16th century. The cistern, which was in use for a short period of time during the Ottoman period, was restored in the mid-19th century.
The cistern, where columns from different Roman structures were used, is 70 metres wide, 140metres long, with a total sum of 336 columns, which were placed in every 4metre. The total water capacity of the cistern is 80.000m3 and its height is 8 metres and has around 10.000m2 surface areas.
After restoration work was completed in 1987, the cistern was opened for the public visit. The lights and classical music played complete the mystic atmosphere in the cistern.
At the very back side, the two Medusa heads, which are used as column bases, are placed sideways down whereas the other one is placed upside down.
A tourist from England, Anthony Spencer, told this reporter that he came to see how the Turks hid their water in the olden days.
“This is an amazing structure to visit. It is interesting to see how the people hid their water; it is a great architectural undertaking. They are nearly empty and have a small amount of water and fish. So, you can see the large underground space that stored the vast amount of water,” Spencer said.
Our tour guide, a Turkish lady, had this to say about the great Yerebatan Cistern. “It has a very interesting history. The cistern was built in the times of Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century to store water for the Great Palace in case of war or another calamity that would make it impossible to have the fresh water transported via the aqueducts. It is so wonderful. And alot of poeple come here to see it.”
The Basilica Cistern was opened to the public in 1987. Visitors can easily stroll here using the walkways constructed over the water. Subdued lighting, soft music and cool temperature make the walk even more pleasurable. The tall columns reflect in the dark water, but people look down amazed rather by the enormous fish that appear in the deep.
In the far left-hand corner of the cistern we will find two fascinating column bases in the shape of Medusa heads. One of them is positioned upside down, the other one sideways. The most popular explanation says that it was done to ward off evil spirits.”
Inside the Tunnel, many tourists were seen throwing coins inside the water tunnel. It is believed that if one throws coins inside the water and makes a wish it will come true.