 Цистерна Базилика — одно из самых крупных и
хорошо сохранившихся древних подземных водохранилищ Константинополя,
имеющее некоторое поверхностное сходство с дворцовым комплексом.
Расположена в историческом центре Стамбула в районе Султанахмет напротив
Собора Святой Софии. The
Basilica Cistern, located in the crowded Eminönü district of Istanbul
next to the Hagia Sophia, was built to provide water for the city of
Istanbul during the reign of Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century CE.
This cistern is an underground chamber of 138 x 64.6 metres. The large
space is broken up by a forest of 336 marble columns, which are
aesthetically supported by strong columns and arches. The ceiling
vaults, known as Manastır Tonozu (cloister vault), are built without
using a mould. The cistern is surrounded by a firebrick wall with a
thickness of 3.5 meters and is coated with a special mortar to make it
waterproof.
Originally, there was a stone-paved circle on the
cistern. It was later broken by dense housing construction beginning in
the Byzantine period continuing into the Ottoman period. The citizens
who settled in the vicinity were provided with their daily water
requirements from the large round well-like holes opening from the
ceiling structure. In 1940, several of the structures built on and
around the Basilica Cistern were nationalized and a neat building was
constructed at the entrance of the Cistern by the Istanbul Metropolitan
Municipality. It was also exposed to a wide range of cleaning process
between 1985-1988. Thus dirty water and tons of mud were removed and a
promenade platform was built in the cistern. After the cleaning process
was completed, the two Medusa heads, masterpieces of the First Age Art
of Statuary were used as pedestals at the bottom of the two columns in
the northwest corner of the cistern. It is not known exactly when or for
what purpose the were antique Medusa and Gorgon heads were brought to
the Basilica Cistern. Автор: Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Издательство: Kultur
Страниц: 10
Формат: JPG+PDF
Размер: 5 Мб
Язык: Английский
Год издания: 2011 | 
