Basilica Cistern // UNDERGROUND Istanbul

EP70: Basilica Cistern // Underground Istanbul

We really enjoyed learning about the surprising history of the Basilica Cistern. Come with us on a virtual tour underground. Basilica Cistern is an underground cistern built by the late Roman Emperor Justinian the Great in Constantinople during the 6th century, the same emperor to build the Aya Sophia. Construction began in 532 AD and only took 3 years to complete - it is estimated that 7000 slaves worked on the cistern in a hurry to provide water to the palace. Throughout the years from being fully functional to being completely forgotten to starring in Hollywood films. Today the Basilica shares its rich history with guests from around the world; hosting concerts and daily tours. Come learn about its fascinating history and beautiful architecture.

Basilica Cistern

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#BasilicaCistern #Istanbul #Jamesbond

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[worldcitizeng]

visited this last July on my last full day, the entrance was so ordinary until you walk down the stairs! It's amazing that we can still walk on ancient history.

[cskye]

Isn't it amazing that the world was so clean at one point that you could just drink water out of a cistern that had been channeled down from mountains hundreds of kilometers away? Now nearly all of our fresh water is contaminated and undrinkable without treatment. Everyone is fast asleep to how we've destroyed our own life support.

[kennethgouge]

Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience. He that travelleth into a country before he hath some entrance into the language, goeth to school, and not to travel. Francis Bacon, 1625 [ thank you for sharing your travels with us, enjoy every one. Regards, Kenneth

[Officialtraveller]

Guys....u have elaborated the whole story... I've seen so many vlogs just to know about basilica cistern...but this one is the best... thanks

[maarifa]

I feel sad for the thousands of slaves died during the construction of this structure.

[mkjones]

What an intriguing bit of history in this cistern. I was amazed at the concept of collecting that many columns from the community to put underground. What those poor citizens must have been thinking to see them ripped from their original placements in such a short amount of time. Great video!

[laurenandseth]

Wow! So much information about this beautiful underground world... it’s so cool how the columns were recycled from ones that were already in the city. We always try to record our tours because we have had tour guides tell us really cool stories or share a piece of history with us and then we literally go to research it and can’t find anything about it. Definitely unique to hear their perspectives. Thanks for sharing 😊

[moizezxelplaneta]

Wow what a unique place. I loved it. And the music fits perfectly 👏

[kerrieleigh]

Wow! Ive been to Istanbul and never knew this was there. Great vlog guys! 😃😃

[travelleryildirim]

Again a nice Vlog, its like a History Channel... great work

[augustovlogs]

I loved the video.Will be there in Istanbul in a couple of days.

[martinh]

I visited it in 2023 - my previous visit to Istanbul was in 1991 when it was not a thing. Join the the slightly disorganised queues at the top - over the tram line beside the Hagia Sophia and await your turn. Ignore the touts. It will be one of the highlights of your Istanbul trip. For a scaled down experience, visit the Serpent Cistern about a mile away with its light show.

[AdventureEncounters]

Wow! So very cool and lots of info! Might have to add this place to our travels! Full watch for y'all and new subscriber here! Thanks for checking out our channel as well! Hope to see you guys again in the future! Cheers y'all!
-Ashley from Adventure Encounters

[chumleyk]

3:29 that column is a well known styl ein roman and greek architecture. The 'eyes' are actually representative of the eyes of a tree - original columns were made from tree stumps. So they represent cut branches. Definitely not human eyes. And there definitely weren't Turks in 'Turkey' when the cistern was built - they came from much further east later on. Everything the tour guide was telling you was just silly tourist hokey.

[onetwo]

Bery well explained. Very nice information. I visited it 1 month ago. I was trying to collecg information to make my video and i am happy to tell you that i have seen your videos and collectef information from it.
Will upload a video soon on my chanmel.
Thanks for the information

[aldrichgopal]

Hi! I just wanted to check if the basilica cistern is now open for tourists in April 2022? I was looking online and some sources say it’s temporarily closed?

[kalimanka]

When will it be reopened for visitors?

[sophiaarzou]

This was built by the EASTERN ROMANS, who were LATER called Byzantines, a name given by Charlemagne... who did NOT want the Greeks to have an association with Rome, for he wanted to be emperor of a "new" Holy Roman Empire. The British then coined the phrase in the 1800's, so what we now know today as Byzantium is actually the Eastern Roman Empire. The folks living in Istanbul need to get the history right, and recognize that most of what they tout is GREEK. The video visually is beautiful, but there are a lot of historical mistakes, unfortunately.

[nickkuiper]

A typical case of Dutch Courage....🤣🇳🇱❤

[alejandrorosales]

A guide told us that they placed this heads this way to avoid becoming stone if they looked at their eyes