Yerebatan Cistern:
One of Istanbul’s major shortcomings was
the insufficient supply of ne drinking water. However, neither the Byzantines
nor the Ottomans let their populations suffer because of that shortfall. Even
before the city became the capital of Byzantine Empire there were some attempts
to bring water into the city and during the Byzantine Empire several public
cisterns were built.
One of the prime examples of them is Yerebatan Cistern,
located right across Ayasofya. It provided water to Istanbul during the
Byzantine Period. It is also called Yerebatan Palace since it is largest of all
cisterns in Istanbul. When you climb down to the main holding area of the
cistern you realize that the analogy is not baseless. The cistern’s roof was
supported by 336 columns.
One of them is known as the weeping column since it
was decorated with crying eyes and eye drops which are so skillfully carved that
the humid air of the cistern it seems as if the drops are really tricking down.
The shallow water level in the cistern, where small fish swims, and the wooden
platforms built just above the water level, lead the visitors to the most
attractive feature of the cistern – the head of Medusa, which is rumoured to
turn the unwary gazer into stone of directly, looked at in the eye.
The medusa
heads were used as the base of columns and it was believed that they were
brought here to protect the city from evil. That was why they were placed
upside down or sideways.
You may be reluctant to leave behind the cool and refreshing
air of the cistern; but there is more to see above ground. First is the Haseki
Hurrem Hammam, the punlic bathhouse commissioned by Sultan Suleyman the
Magnificient for hislove, Hurrem Sultan ( Roxelana ). Built by Mimar Sinan,
this bathhouse is situated between Ayasofya and Sultan Ahmet Mosque. Hurrem
Sultan was brought to the palace to be trained as a concubine in the harem (the
sacrosanct female quarters of the royal household).
She managed to attract the
attention of Sultan Suleyman with her smartness and beauty in quite a short
space of time.Hurrem Sultan commissioned many public works bearing her name and
so takes her place of glory in Ottoman history. Her tomb is next to the tomb of
Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent in the courtyard of Suleyman Mosque, considered
as one of the city’s most treasured buildings.
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