About this guide
The Basilica Cistern Guide is an independent travel guide. We are not the official website of the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı), or of any public body or tour company.
What we do
We write practical pages for visiting the Basilica Cistern: which ticket to buy, what to see inside, how to get there and how to combine it with the rest of Sultanahmet. We link to tours and tickets you can book, so you can go straight from reading to booking.
How we choose tours
The "Check price & dates" buttons link to activities on GetYourGuide. We're a GetYourGuide affiliate partner: if you book through these links, we earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
We pick each tour because it fits the page it's on: what it includes, how well it's rated and how easy it makes your visit. The descriptions on this site are our own. For exact details, times and prices, always check the activity listing.
Privacy
No cookies, no accounts.
Photo credits
All photos come from Wikimedia Commons and are used under the licences shown.
- Rows of marble columns lit in warm tones under the brick vaults of the Basilica Cistern by Joseolgon, CC BY 4.0
- Walkways between the columns over the lit water of the Basilica Cistern by Joseolgon, CC BY 4.0
- A contemporary sculpture reflected in the water between the cistern columns by Nan Palmero, CC BY 2.0
- A sideways Medusa head at the base of a column in the Basilica Cistern by Nan Palmero, CC BY 2.0
- The Hen's Eye Column, carved with eyes and branches in relief by Mattpopovich, CC0
- Lit columns and their reflections in the water of the Basilica Cistern by Moise Nicu, CC BY 3.0
- The cistern after the 2022 restoration, with the columns reflected in the water by Kurmanbek, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hagia Sophia and its minarets under a blue Istanbul sky by Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- A T1 tram in Sultanahmet by Zach1055, CC BY-SA 4.0
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