İstanbul’un Eminönü ilçesinde Ayasofya’nın yanında bulunan Yerebatan
Sarnıcı,
İmparator I. İustinianos tarafından 6 yy.da yapılmıştır. Şehrin
su ihtiyacını karşılamak
maksadıyla inşa edilen sarnıç, 138 metre
uzunluğa ve 64,6 metre genişliğe sahiptir.
Sarnıçta toplam 336 mermer
sütun kullanılmış, bu sütunlar estetik açıdan güçlü sütun
başlıkları ve
kemerlerle desteklenmiştir. Tavan örtüsünde kullanılan tonozlar,
Manastır
Tonozu olarak bilinen tonozlardan olup, bu tonozlar kalıp
kullanılmaksızın örülmüştür.
3.5 metre genişliğe sahip sarnıç duvarları
ise su geçirmez özel bir harç ile sıvanarak,
Bugün kalabalık bir mekânın ortasında bulunan Yerebatan Sarnıcı’nın
üstünde ilk
zamanlar taş döşemeli bir meydan bulunurken; bu meydan
Bizans zamanında başlayan
ve Osmanlı zamanında devam eden yapılaşma ile
bozulmuştur. Buraya yerleşen halk,
sarnıcın tavan örtüsünü meydana
getiren tonozlardan delikler açarak sarnıçtan su çekmiş
ve bu şekilde
günlük su ihtiyacını karşılamıştır. 1940 yılında belediye tarafından
sarnıcın
üst kısmındaki bazı yapılar istimlâk edilerek; sarnıcın
girişine muntazam bir bina inşa
edilmiştir. 1985–1988 yılları arası
kapsamlı bir temizliğe ve onarıma tabi tutulan sarnıcın
içindeki kirli
su, tonlarca çamur birikintisi temizlenmiş ve gezi platformu inşa
edilmiştir.
Bu temizlikten sonra sarnıcın güneybatı köşesindeki
sütunların, kısa gelen gövdelerini
yükseltmek için altlarına ilk
çağlardan kalan mermer bir anıtın parçaları konulduğu
görülmüştür.
Medusa veya Gorgon başları olarak bilinen geç antik çağdan kalan bu
eserlerin neden ve ne maksatla buraya getirildiği tam olarak
bilinmemektedir.
The Basilica Cistern (Turkish: Yerebatan Sarayı - "Sunken Palace", or Yerebatan Sarnıcı -
"Sunken Cistern"), is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the
city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), Turkey. The cistern, located 500 feet (150 m)
southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th
century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
The name of this subterranean structure derives from a large public square on the
First Hill of Constantinople, the Stoa Basilica, beneath which it was originally constructed.
Before being converted to a cistern, a great Basilica
stood in its place, built between the 3rd
and 4th centuries during the
Early Roman Age as a commercial, legal and artistic centre.
The basilica was reconstructed by Ilius after a fire in 476.
Ancient texts indicated that the basilica contained gardens, surrounded by a colonnade and
facing the Hagia Sophia. According to ancient historians, Emperor Constantine built a
structure that was later rebuilt and enlarged by Emperor Justinian after the Nika riots
of 532, which devastated the city.
Historical texts claim that 7,000 slaves were involved in the construction of the
cistern.The enlarged cistern provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of
Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill, and continued to provide water to
the Topkapi Palace after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 and into modern times.
This cathedral-size cistern is an underground chamber approximately 138 metres (453 ft)
by 64.6 metres (212 ft)
- about 9,800 square metres (105,000 sq ft) in area - capable
of
holding 80,000 cubic metres (2,800,000 cu ft) of water. The ceiling is
supported by a
forest of 336 marble columns, each 9 metres (30 ft) high, arranged in 12 rows of 28
columns each spaced 4.9 metres (16 ft) apart. The capitals of the columns are mainly
Ionic and Corinthian styles, with the exception of a few Doric
style with no engravings.
One of the columns is engraved with raised
pictures of a Hen's Eye, slanted braches,
and tears. This column
resembles the columns of the Triumphal Arch of Theodosius
I from the 4th century (AD 379-395), erected in the 'Forum Tauri' Square.
Ancient texts
suggest that the tears on the column pay tribute to the
hundreds of slaves who died
during the construction of the Basilica
Cistern. The majority of the columns in the cistern
appear to have been
recycled from the ruins of older buildings (a process called 'spoliation'),
likely brought to Constantinople from various parts of the empire, together with those that
were used in the construction of Hagia Sophia. They are carved and engraved out of various
types of marble and granite.
Fifty-two stone steps descend into the entrance of the cistern. The cistern is surrounded by
a firebrick
wall with a thickness of 4 metres (13 ft) and coated with a
waterproofing
mortar. The Basilica Cistern's water came from the
Eğrikapı Water Distribution
Center in the Belgrade Forest,
which lie 19 kilometres (12 mi) north of the city. It
traveled through
the 971 metres (3,186 ft)-long Valens (Bozdoğan) Aqueduct, and the
115.45 metres (378.8 ft)-long Mağlova Aqueduct, which was built by the
Emperor
Justinian.
The cistern has the capacity to store 100,000 tons of water, despite
being virtually empty
today with only a few feet of water lining the
bottom.
The weight of the cistern lies on the columns by means of the cross-shaped vaults and
round arches of its roof.
The Basilica Cistern has undergone several restorations since its
foundation. The first of
the repairs were carried out twice during the
Ottoman State in the 18th century during the
reign of Ahmed III in 1723 by the architect Muhammad Agha of Kayseri. The second
major repair was completed during the 19th century during the reign of Sultan
Abdulhamid II
(1876–1909). Cracks to masonry and damaged columns were repaired in
1968, with additional restoration in 1985 by the Istanbul Metropolitan
Museum.
During the 1985 restoration, 50,000 tons of mud were removed
from the cisterns,
and a platforms built throughout to replace the boats
once used to tour the cistern.
The cistern was opened to the public in
its current condition on 9 September 1987. In
May 1994, the cistern
underwent additional cleaning.
Origin Wikipedia ..
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