Turkey - Underground cistern

Very near to the Aya Sophia is the underground Basilica cistern, the largest of several hundred ancient water storage structures that still lie beneath the city of Istanbul. 336 marble columns taken from ruined buildings, each 9 metres high, fill the space along with about 2 feet of water. The bases of two of the columns are carved with Medusa heads (see pics below). The cistern is surrounded by a firebrick wall with a thickness of 4 meters and coated with a special mortar to seal in the water. Interestingly, this was one of the warmest places we visited, even though it was underground with water dripping from the ceiling. To my sis Karen, check out the Stumpy look-alike ancient column!