The largest of Roma Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern in the middle of the historical peninsula, Emperor Byzantine Justinian was built to meet the water needs in 542.Between the grandeur of the marble columns rising out of the water because they are referred to by locals as the Basilica Cistern.Basilica Cistern, a giant structure covering an area of ​​9,800 m2.Here there are 336 columns, each 9 meters in height.These columns erected at regular intervals, including 28 units in each row as they form 12.Water that rises within a vast forest of columns to remember and does not affect the visitor enters the cistern.Under the two columns in the northwest corner of the cistern,two Medusa heads used as the base of the Roman period, is one of the masterpieces of the art of sculpture.Cistern has undergone several repairs until founding to the present.Twice during the reign of the Ottoman Empire was restored.This mysterious structure has been an indispensable part of istanbul trip.Former U.S. President Bill Clinton,Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok,Italian old Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini,former Prime Minister of Sweden Göran Persson and more famous people visited here.