Basilica Cistern · The Upside-Down Medusa

The Basilica Cistern is an underground reservoir built in the Byzantine period. More than three hundred stone columns stand in shallow water, and at the far end two heads of Medusa are held down under the columns — one upside down, one turned on its side.

The cistern was built using old material taken from other structures, and these two heads were probably brought from an earlier temple. Why they were placed as they were, no one can say.

Fish move through the water in shoals, and the lighting reaches only halfway. At the deepest point visitors can hear water dripping from a great height.

Historical Mysteries / Istanbul · Türkiye / 532