The Cistern of Philoxenos ( Greek : Κινστέρνα Φιλοξένου ), or Binbirdirek Cistern , is a man-made subterranean reservoir in Istanbul , situated between the Forum of Constantine and the Hippodrome of Constantinople in the Sultanahmet district. It has been restored and is now visited as a tourist attraction. The entrance is located at İmran Öktem Sokak 4. Binbirdirek Cistern is the second largest cistern in Istanbul after the Basilica Cistern .
6-397: The reservoir has a surface area of 3640 m, storing 40,000 m of water. The cistern is composed of a large hypostyle chamber supported by vaults. The 224 columns, each 14 to 15 meters tall, are made of marble from nearby Marmara Island . Each column is a superposition of two columns, joined by a marble ring. The floor of the cistern was later reinforced, so that only the upper column and
12-477: A ceiling. The columns may be all the same height or, as in the case of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak , the columns flanking the central space may be of greater height rather than those of the side aisles, allowing openings in the wall above the smaller columns, through which light is admitted over the aisle roof, through clerestory windows. The architectural form has many applications, occurring in
18-456: A short sleeve of the lower column are thus visible. The original height can be seen in an excavated pond with four columns in the middle of the cistern. Most of the columns, and also the caps, are engraved with a Greek mason's mark . The cistern was restored by Justinian I in the 6th century, after the Palace of Lausus was completely destroyed in a fire in 475. After the conquest of the city by
24-722: Is only 224. The difference is due to the Turkish expression, "binbir" (i.e. 1001), being a turn of phrase that is often used to express a large sum or array of something. Hypostyle In architecture , a hypostyle ( / ˈ h aɪ p ə ˌ s t aɪ l , ˈ h ɪ p ə -/ ) hall has a roof which is supported by columns. The term hypostyle comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος hypóstȳlos meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό hypó means below or underneath and στῦλος stŷlos means column). The roof may be constructed with bridging lintels of stone, wood or other rigid material such as cast iron, steel or reinforced concrete. There may be
30-489: The cella of ancient Greek temples and in many Asian buildings, particularly of wood construction. With a combination of columns and arches , the hypostyle hall became one of the two main types of mosque construction. In many mosques, especially the early congregational mosques, the prayer hall has the hypostyle form. One of the finest examples of the hypostyle-plan mosques is the Great Mosque of Kairouan (also called
36-624: The Ottomans in 1453, the cistern fell into disuse, and was forgotten until rediscovered during the construction of Fazli Pasha 's palace on the same site in the 17th century. In 1826, roughly 100 members of the Janissary Corps drowned after fleeing into the cistern during the Auspicious Incident . The name "Binbirdirek" means "1001 Columns" in Turkish , although the true number of the columns
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