Thursday — April 22: Part IV
In the previous post, I skipped to the middle portion of our afternoon sightseeing. Now, let me cover the other places we visited.
After leaving the bazaars behind, we went to Yerebatan Sarnıcı (Basilica Cistern) first. The site is operated by the Büyükşehir Municipality, hence the MüzeKart is not valid here. No problem; Murat asked if we could have “Three Turkish entrances and one over-70 ticket.” The attendant, seated in a glassed-in-booth, stood up to get a closer look at us, and replied: “But they’re foreigners!” Predictably, we responded in chorus, and loud enough to send the poor guy reeling, “Hayır, değiliz (no we’re not)!!!” He wasn’t expecting such a strong reaction to what he probably thought was an innocent statement; we got our 3TL entrance tickets (approx. $2; vs 10TL or $6.5 for foreigners). OK, so the entrance fee wasn’t expensive, but it’s the principle you know!
Model of the cistern, including the street that runs across it aboveground.
(Miniatürk — March 2004)
“Ali Kerim Bey … Ali Kerim Bey …” (pretend you’re a voluptuous brunette reclining on a sofa; do your best imitation of a sultry, soft female voice; oh, and dr
I’ve digressed enough, don’t you think? Anyway, Emperor Justinian I ordered the construction of the cistern in 532 on the site of a basilica that was lost in a fire. Some historians claim the cistern is named for that basilica; others say the name is in reference to Ayasofya, which is in close proximity. The dome over the 231 by 462 feet (~70 x 140 m) cistern is held up by 336 marble columns taken from buildings throughout the city. The columns have mostly Ionic and Corinthian capitals, with a few Doric ones thrown into the mix, as well as two with Medusa heads. It’s partially due to these columns that the cistern is also known as the “Sunken Palace.” The water that filled the cistern came from the Belgrade Forest, 11 miles (~19 km) from the city.
An other-worldly scene greets visitors who descend into the cistern.
The columns are arranged in 12 rows of 28 each.
Cross-shaped vaults and arches transfer the ceiling weight to the columns.
Aylin catches me photographing the “Crying Pillar”.
Two of the columns have Medusa heads in lieu of capitals — one upside down;
the other on its side, seemingly crying a pool of water.
There are several legends about Medusa. One claims that she was one of the three Gorgons, the female dragons of the underworld in Greek Mythology. The story goes that she had snakes for hair and the power to turn those that looked at her into stone. Hence her image was placed in great buildings as a form of protection.
This mosaic floor features a Medusa medallion.
(Bergama Archaeological Museum, 2007)
Another legend claims that Medusa was a beautiful woman with black eyes, long hair, and a graceful figure, who was in love with Perseus, the son of Zeus. Athena, who was also in love with Perseus, was jealous of Medusa’s long tresses and turned them into a nest of snakes. Those seeing the transformed Medusa were so scared that they turned to stone. Perseus, on the other hand, found anothe
(Photo from Wikipedia; released into public domain by the author — Cellini’s “Statue of Perseus” in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy.)
Guides giving tours of the cistern recount these legends. Some going so far as to say that one of the stone heads is that of the real Medusa. Others simply state that since she was a dragon of the underworld, it’s only natural that the heads were placed here to protect the underground cistern? As to why one is upside down and the other sideways. That may have something to do with the legends as well, but a simpler explanation is that since the cistern was going to be filled with water, no one really cared whether the heads were placed upright or not.
Time to move on ...
Leaving Yerebatan Sarnıcı behind, we went to explore Ayasofya next. I've already posted about that part of our day, so I'll move onto the Padişah Türbeleri (Tombs of Ottoman Sultans), which are on the museum grounds. (For a map, see the previous post.) By the way, the tombs are free to the public.
The domes of two of the tombs peek out over the surrounding wall.
Having been under restoration since 2006, the tombs re-opened to the public in 2009. The site is home to the largest collection of Ottoman tombs in one place. The baptistery was closed, so I am not sure how many sarcophagi are in there, but just in the four buildings I visited, there are 127.
Amongst those buried here are five sultans (Mehmet III, Selim II, Murat III, Mustafa I, and İbrahim I — the latter two in the former baptistery of Ayasofya), as well as first wives of sultans, mothers of sultans, daughters and sons of sultans, and a few VIPs of the period. The tombs were built during the 16th and 17th centuries by well-known Ottoman architects, including master architect Mimar Sinan.
The interior of the tomb of Sultan Mehmet III is decorated with 17th century İznik tiles.
(total sarcophagi: 26)
Built in 1577 by Mimar Sinan, the tomb of Sultan Selim I was the first one to
be constructed on the grounds of Ayasofya.
(total sarcophagi: 42)
Both the interior and exterior of Selim II’s tomb is decorated with İznik tiles.
Ceiling detail from the tomb of Sultan Selim II.
“Şehzadeler Türbesi” (tomb of the princes) is thought to have been built by
Mimar Sinan. Four sons and one daughter of Sultan Murat is buried here.
(the turban on the sarcophagus means that it is the burial site of a prince)
Unlike the other tombs, Şehzadeler Türbesi has very simple decorative elements.
Built in 1599, the tomb of Sultan Murat III is decorated with some of the finest
examples of 16th century coral tiles from İznik and mother of pearl inlays.
(total sarcophagi: 54)
From the tombs, we started our return journey to the hotel (for real this time) ...
Next Up: Wrapping up the Day
Very interesting. Fine work!
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