Glass Covered Ruins at the Cisterna Basilica in Istanbul
I came to Istanbul, Türkiye knowing only about Constantinople and nothing else. As you know Constantinople was the old name of Istanbul when Emperor Constantine conquered the area. It replaced the old name of Byzantium which it used to have. I thought it is amazing to know how it changed hands just from the number of names it had. Obviously, its current name is Istanbul and from what I can see, it has wonderfully preserved a lot of this history. The Cisterna Basilica is one of the several significant monuments here in the city. It is housed in what appears to be a glass structure. I tried going in but I was told by staff and I would need to wait fifteen minutes to be able to get in. I thought it was just lunch break but it seems they have a reason for this.
Closer Look at the Ruins at the Cisterna Basilica in Istanbul
After fifteen minutes, the doors opened and people were stepping out. I thought that there were too many people going out for just this small structure. Perhaps there is more to it than meets the eye. I was then allowed to go in. Visitors can purchase tickets here for the Cisterna Basilica or go all in for all the sites of Istanbul. I don’t think I would be able to visit all of those places, so I just purchased an individual ticket. There is a schedule to follow here so people can’t just go in and explore the place. Most people will be waiting inside until the event starts. Here, you can see the ruins of a former structure. I saw a round structure here which was protected by glass. I thought that was the cistern and I was underwhelmed. It looks like a well that was just filled up. I didn’t know I was severely mistaken.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/CisternaBasilica.kmz} zoom=19]