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Basilica Cistern facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Basilica Cistern Constantinople 2007 hall
View of the Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns under the city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), Turkey. The cistern, is close to the Hagia Sophia.

History

Emperor Justinian I commissioned his city prefect Longinus to build it. It was completed in 532, after the Nika riots. As many as 7,000 slaves worked to build the cistern.

The large cistern provided a water source for the emperor's palace. Sometime before the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 the cistern was closed. It was discovered in 1545 by Petrus Gyllius. After that Ottoman city officials used it for dumping waste including corpses. It has been restored at least three times. In 1985 it was closed for cleaning again. In 1987 it was opened to the public as a tourist attraction. 2 million tourist visited the Cistern in 2013.

Size

The cistern is a huge underground room that measures about 138 metres (453 ft) by 64.6 metres (212 ft) It is about 10,000 square metres (2.5 acres) in area. The cistern can hold 80,000 cubic metres (21,000,000 US gal) of water. The ceiling is supported by 336 marble columns. Each one is 40.75 metres (133.7 ft) high.

Modern Culture

The cistern was used for a James Bond movie From Russia with Love. Also the 2009 movie The International was shot here. The 2011 video game, Assassin's Creed: Revelations includes scenes from the Basilica Cistern.

Images for kids

  • Medusa Head at Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey (Ank Kumar) 03

    The second Medusa head pillar

  • Peacock-eyed column in the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, Turkey, January 20, 2014

    The Hen's Eye column.

  • 20131203 Istanbul 269

    The sideways Medusa

  • Basilica Cistern

    The entrance to the Basilica Cistern

  • BasilicaCistern79msu

    Another view of the forest of columns

  • Head of Medusa, Basilica Cistern, Constantinople 01

    Column with Medusa base

  • Head of Medusa, Basilica Cistern, Constantinople 02

    Another column with Medusa base

  • Basilica Cistern Constantinople 2007

    "Peacock-eyed" column

  • Carp at the Basilica Cistern, Istanbul 2007

    Carp in the Cistern

  • CisternCafe

    The Cistern Cafe

  • Basilica cistern istanbul mirror

    The ceiling of the Basilica Cistern reflected in the still waters

  • Basilica cistern Art

    Art exhibit in the Cistern, 2010.

  • Ciszterna - Isztambul, 2014.10.23 (11)

    Basilica Cistern

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cisterna Basílica para niños

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Basilica Cistern Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.