Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey

The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that were constructed beneath Istanbul. It was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian.

Called Basilica because it was under a large public square on the First Hill of Constantinople, the Stoa Basilica. Before the cistern was built, a large basilica stood here, built between the 3rd and 4th centuries during the Early Roman Age as a commercial, legal and artistic centre. The basilica was reconstructed after a fire in 476.

The basilica contained gardens, surrounded by a colonnade, facing the Hagia Sophia. Emperor Constantine built a structure that was later rebuilt and enlarged by Emperor Justinian after the Nika riots of 532, which devastated the city. 7,000 slaves were involved in the building of the cistern.

The enlarged cistern provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill, and continued to provide water to the Topkapı Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times.

It is about 9,800 square metres (105,000 sq ft) and can hold 80,000 cubic metres (2,800,000 cu ft) of water. The ceiling is supported 336 marble columns, 9 metres (30 ft) high, in 12 rows of 28 columns each spaced 5 metres (16 ft) apart. The capitals of the columns are mainly Ionic and Corinthian styles, with a few Doric ones.

In the northwest corner of the cistern, the bases of two columns reuse blocks carved with the face of Medusa. The origin of the two heads is unknown.

The cistern was used as a location for the 1963 James Bond film From Russia with Love.