Istanbul Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Tickets
About this activity
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Experience Highlights
Experience the magic beneath the streets of Istanbul with your skip-the-line ticket to the Basilica Cistern. Forget waiting in long lines: show your ticket directly at the entrance and enter this underground marvel, the largest water cistern built in antiquity.
Your visit includes an audio guide who will explain the history, Byzantine engineering and curious anecdotes of the cistern. You can explore at your own pace among its 336 marble columns and search for the enigmatic heads of Medusa.
- Save time and avoid the queues at one of Istanbul's most popular attractions.
- Enjoy the freedom to explore the Cistern at your own pace.
- Discover the secrets of the largest cistern of antiquity.
What’s included
- Queue-free entrance to the Basilica Cistern
- Audioguide available in German, English, Italian, French, Spanish and German.
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Step by Step
Built in the 6th century AD by order of Emperor Justinian I, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is a hidden treasure beneath the ancient city of Constantinople. Measuring 140 m long by 70 m wide and holding 80,000 m³ of water, supported by 336 columns imported from different provinces of the empire, this reservoir supplied the Great Palace and the hundreds of cisterns in the area.
As you enter, you will be greeted by a mystical atmosphere: the soft glow of the light reflected in the pools, the murmur of the water and the echo of your footsteps between rows of Corinthian, Doric and Ionic columns. Each column has its own story, and your audio guide will tell you details of the hand-carved capitals and original inscriptions that have survived to this day.
One of the great mysteries of the cistern are the two heads of Medusa, placed upside down on the corners of two pillars. According to legend, looking into their eyes would turn anyone to stone; according to historians, this arrangement was intended to give structural strength. At your leisure, you can get up close and photograph them from impossible angles.
The tour has a multilingual audioguide to delve into the curiosities: how it was built, where the water was brought from, and its use over the centuries. You can stop for as long as you like before returning to the surface, enjoying a journey back in time beneath Istanbul.
Visiting the Basilica Cistern is a breathtaking chapter in Roman architecture and Byzantine innovation, perfect for history, engineering and photography buffs. Don't miss this unique experience in the "City of Cities".
