BİNBİRDİREK CISTERN

Open until morning
The restoration process was started in 1992 and finished in 2002, at the end of which this historical place was brought into the culture and art life of Istanbul. The cistern, which is open to the public daily, includes a facility that can host special events, ceremonies, congresses, etc. There is a patisserie coffeehouse as well, which also has a seating and dining capacity for 1,500 people,
a cocktail capacity for 4,500 people, and party capacity for 6,000 people. Another feature of this facility is that it offers service 24 hours a day, which means that you can drink a cup of coffee or a glass of wine in a unique historical setting even in the early hours of the day.


THE CISTERN OF A THOUSAND AND ONE COLUMNS
It is known that the Cistern of 1001 Columns, which is the oldest covered cistern of Istanbul, was built in the 4th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constantine. The original name of this cistern, which is located just across from Justice Hall on imram Okten Street, is the Philoksenos Cistern, named after a member of the Roman Senate. There were 224 columns in this cistern of which 212 still stand today. The cistern is totally 64x24 sqm in dimension. The cistern was opened to the public in 2002 after a long restoration period that lasted 7 years. The cistern is located to the west of the Hippodrome.
This cistern was recently connected to the road that lies next to it after having been cleaned. It has been turned into an easily accessible historical site to tour offering an interesting and enjoyable place to visit. The brick vaults of the building, surrounded by thick walls, dual columns fixed by a subsection and carrying the brick vaults, and untreated capitals of these columns are points of interest. Small shops, coffeehouses, exhibition areas, and the concave section from which the original height of the columns can be seen were all built during the renovation.

The water issue
The city of Istanbul had to withstand many blockades during nearly every historical period. The Ottoman blockades that took place during the Byzantine period triggered water shortages in the city. The cisterns played a significant role in overcoming this problem. After the Ottomans conquered the city, they used the water from these cisterns but not to meet their drinking water needs, assuming that "ditch water cannot be clean and drinkable."