Basilica Cistern

We visited the Basilica Cistern (aka Yerebatan Sarnıcı), it is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that still lie beneath the city of Istanbul. The cistern was used as a location for the James Bond film From Russia with Love.

The Medusa heads were very interesting to see! The origin of the two heads is unknown, though it is rumoured that the heads were brought to the cistern after being removed from an antique building of the late Roman period. Another mystery is why one of the heads is upside down, while the other is tilted to one side. It is commonly accepted by scientists that they were placed that way deliberately.