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See the Beauty of the Basilica Cistern

Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, Turkey

Have a Splendid Time at the Basilica Cistern

Tourism in Istanbul

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Quick Information

Best time to visit
Apr - May, Aug - Oct
Ideal Duration
6-7 Days
Visa
On Arrival
Starting from
Rs. 23,520
  • Ideal for friends
  • Beach
  • Nature

Basilica Cistern, Istanbul (Turkey)

Cistern is basically a public tank built for storing and supplying water to the inhabitants of the city. Earlier, these cisterns were made up of many materials. Istanbul is one such place where one can find a number of cisterns. One of the most famous cisterns is the Basilica Cistern. The Basilica Cistern is known as one of the largest cisterns in Istanbul due to which it attracts lots of visitors every year.

History of Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian 1. As per the history of Basilica Cistern, it had been damaged too during wars and attacks but even after that, it was reconstructed by the emperors. The magnificent cistern looks no less than an ancient temple built under the sea. The Basilica Cistern eve has its own share of history and legends. The name Basilica was given as the cistern was built upon a huge Basilica during the 3rd and 4th centuries. There are several legends which are attached to the Basilica Cistern. It is said that around 7000 laborers were required to build this magnificent cistern. One can even find water in here though in a small quantity. Fish can still be found as they help in keeping the water in the cistern clean. Even after so many destruction and reconstruction, Basilica Cistern has not yet lost its charm and attracts lots of visitors every year.

The Basilica Cistern now holds a lot of importance for the Istanbul tourism. Basilica Cistern is even added in many itineraries and is visited by tourists from all around the globe.

Interesting Facts about Basilica Cistern

With an estimate of more than 80 underground ancient cisterns, Basilica Cistern is the largest cistern in Istanbul.

The giant structure is supported by 336 Corinthian style columns.

This famous Istanbul underground cistern is 65 meter wide and 143 meter long, and has the capacity of holding  up to 17.5 million gallons of water.

This attractions also houses an artificial lake of the size of two hugely sprawled fields.

This popular attraction is also referred to as ‘the Sunken Palace’.

There are many sculptures too which can be viewed in this beautiful cistern. The sculpture of Medusa head is one of the most famous sculptures due to its life like structure and the designs that are carved in the sculpture. There are many such places that would fascinate you about this place.

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    Dhatri Hv

    Dhatri's 7 days trip to Istanbul

    Me and my husband with two others recently had the pleasure of booking a 10-day Turkey trip with Travel Triangle, and it was an absolutely unforgettable experience! From start to finish, everything was organized seamlessly, and the team at Travel Triangle made sure our journey through Istanbul, Anta
    lya, and Cappadocia was filled with memorable moments. Istanbul: Our trip began in the vibrant city of Istanbul, and everything was very well arranged. From exploring the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque to enjoying a boat ride to Princess Island, every detail was taken care of. The local guide provided insightful knowledge of the city’s history, and the accommodations were comfortable and centrally located, allowing us to explore on our own as well. Only in Princess Island, the guide could have been more helpful in explaining the island insights rather than just dropping us to the place and explore on our own. Antalya: In Antalya, Travel Triangle arranged an excellent blend of historical tours and leisure time on the beautiful beaches. The guided visit to the ancient city of Perge, Pammukale, Old town walk and a relaxing trek to 2 waterfalls were definite highlights. The choice of hotel with its sea view was perfect! Cappadocia: Cappadocia was the highlight of the trip! We approached Travel Triangle in the last minute to book Hot air balloon and they didn't disappoint us. They planned a magical experience with the hot air balloon ride, which was a dream come true. The fairy chimneys, underground cities and even ATV ride at sunset were fascinating. I’m grateful for the attention to detail, from the transport to the personalized local tours. Every activity was well-timed, allowing us to soak in the surreal landscapes. Overall: The only drawback was that we couldn't spend more time in each place as it was a group trip or we weren't allowed to alter . We were taken to multiple jewelry shop / workshop which personally felt was not required. We would have enjoyed more if they had taken us to lot more historical place. However, the tour was perfectly balanced between sightseeing, adventure, and relaxation. I highly recommend Travel Triangle for anyone looking to explore Turkey, as their services made this trip truly special.
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    Sushiman

    Bengaluru

    Sushiman's 6 days trip to Istanbul

    Things were well arranged. Their team created a whatsapp group and we're constantly giving updates. Thanks for all the help, Ruksana, Karishma and team. Airport transfer, Green tour, Hot air balloon rides were great. The ATV ride was a bit risky though. We got bad helmets. No elbow/knee guards.
    D

    Dryogita

    New delhi

    Dryogita's 7 days trip to Istanbul

    The trip was well organised and coordinated.Our travel agent "rohit" was in constant contact with us through out the trip and was quick at resolving our queries. Cave hotel at Cappadocia was really good.Hotel room at antalya was not so great although the location of the hotel was good. Overall it
    was very nice trip..Thanx @traveltriangle
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    Samarth Agarwal

    New delhi

    Samarth's 8 days trip to Istanbul

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    Hyderabad

    Karthik's 9 days trip to Istanbul

    did 2 weeks turkiye trip with travel triangle, was splendid and easy bookings end to end. would highly recommend
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    Foreign

    Kadavrakesh's 6 days trip to Istanbul

    Had a great experience in Cappadocia, beautiful hotel and excellent trip with a great tour guide. Istanbul hotel was not been great as describe in the hotel website. Specially chosen the prefer hotel but very upsetting of not having the a comfort stay. We have allocated in a coner room and then se
    rvice felt bit of poor as per there standards. Staff not much of helpful thou. Istanbul Tour & guide was the best to make us most of our journey but the prince island wasn't up to the standard as describe. The boat tour to island was a shamble and food offer felt us like eating in canteen food. Rest service was been great
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    London

    Pankaj's 10 days trip to Istanbul

    It was our first time dealing with Travel Triangle and their network of Indian travel agents. We booked a family trip to Turkey which was fabulously organised and we came back with amazing memories. We would certainly use Travel Triangle again for our future holiday needs. Thank you for taking the
    stress out of planning and arranging such a comprehensive 5 cities with 3 domestic internal flights, 13 days holiday! Too many to list but personal favourite was the ATV sunset tour in Cappadocia which was amazing with breathtaking sunset view in Rose valley.
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    Sunil Kumar

    Anupshahar

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    We booked 9 nights and 10 days all inclusive tour for four person for TURKEY from FLY HIGH GLOBAL tour company. We are very delighted and satisfied with the services they provided during the tour.Their prices for the package were transparent and most competitive.Selection of hotels,flights ,coaches,
    domestic flights,transfers,English speaking guides were excellent.However we feel lack of Indian food.Their services and response of phone calls were good and quick.We would definitely recommend FLY HIGH Global for Turkey tour. Thanks a lot for wonderful trip. Sunil Kumar Gupta
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    Ram Prabhakar Chitewale

    Madhya pradesh

    Ram's 7 days trip to Istanbul

    Dear Travel Triangle / Lykke Travels / Corbieco Travel Team, At the outset let me thank you all for the nicely arranged and executed Turkey Tour from the 07th of August to 13th of August. ☺️ The domestic flight tickets were booked as per our requirements and the Pick-up / Drop from the Airport to
    Hotel and Vise-versa was very well arranged, the vehicles were very good as well.
    C

    Christobelniranjani

    Chennai

    Christobelniranjani's 9 days trip to Istanbul

    Good: Abishek and Kanwaljeet Singh coordinated my trip. They were very supportive throughout. The tours in Istanbul, Capadoccia were great. Private transfers were excellent. Improve: expensive, private transfer team could speak english, could improve flexibility of tour options. I booked visa on ow
    n and sent it for confirmation to the team and it was confirmed a week ago. However, 2 hours before the trip i was told the visa had an issue and charged 6300 for instant visa. This could have been handled better

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    How was the Basilica Cistern built?

    Rebuilt by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, this structure was constructed under beneath a large public square, called the Stoa Basilica, and thus derived its name from that place. However, this cistern got recognized by Gyllius when he came to Istanbul to conduct research.

    Why was the Basilica Cistern built?

    During the Byzantine period, emperors used to built numerous cisterns to store water during crisis, especially wars. And, this attraction was one of them. The attraction came in picture when Pitrus Gyllius discovered it in 1545.

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