The Basilica Cistern Museum was taken under protection by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality with the most comprehensive restoration in its history. Restoration works carried out by IMM Heritage teams strengthened the city's largest closed cistern against a possible Istanbul earthquake, and brought the new generation museology approach to life in a unique structure. On July 23, CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and İBB President Ekrem İmamoğluBasilica Cistern, which opened its doors to visitors with a temporary exhibition in which .
The Basilica Cistern Museum, which is one of the most important traces of the thousands of years of multi-layered history of Istanbul, the capital of the empires, has been taken under protection with the restoration carried out by IMM Heritage teams.
The historical building, which carries risks especially against a possible Istanbul earthquake, was strengthened against earthquakes with the restoration works carried out by the IMM Heritage teams with the principle of "archaeological restoration" and brought to Istanbul tourism.
The last restoration works at the Basilica Cistern Museum, which is one of the most important stops not only of Istanbul but also of world tourism, started in 2016 in line with the projects approved by the relevant Conservation Board dated 08.08.2012. As restoration decisions could not be taken until the end of 2019, the restoration processes could not be advanced.
IMM Heritage teams, which took over the restoration works with a 2020 percent realization rate in 20, determined that the existing tension irons did not continue inside the columns during the scraping works and that the building was in great danger.
Then, a new static project was prepared for the Basilica Cistern, which was noted to be under serious static risk considering the great Istanbul earthquake. On 23.10.2020, it was conveyed to the Directorate of the Regional Board of Conservation of Cultural Heritage, numbered Istanbul IV.
APPROVED EXPECTED AFTER 68 DAYS
The "Evaluation Report" prepared by the expert scientific committee for the aforementioned static project was submitted to the Conservation Board with the opinion of the Scientific Advisory Committee and was approved on 68 after 30.12.2020 days.
IMM Heritage, without wasting time, dismantled the existing tension bars and created a modern stainless steel and thin-section tensioning system in line with the approved project. With the reversibly applied reinforcement, the structure was made resistant to the expected Istanbul earthquake.
A MUSEUM EXPERIENCE OPENING TO CONTEMPORARY ART
Within the scope of the restoration works, the existing reinforced concrete walkway with a height of 2 meters, which created a negative effect on the Basilica Cistern, was also removed. Instead of this concrete road, a lighter walkway platform made of modular steel material, compatible with the identity of the building, was prepared.
The new walkway shortens the distance between the cistern and the audience, making you feel the depth of the building; offering the opportunity to experience its imposing height; It promises visitors a viewing pleasure integrated with columns, ground and water.
One of the prominent interventions in the restoration was the cleaning of the late period cement floors, which reached a height of 50 centimeters from the floor of the cistern. In this way, visitors can see 1500-year-old brick pavements for the first time.
One thousand 440 cubic meters of cement mortar, which damaged the original texture of the building throughout the museum, was also removed from the cistern with meticulous work.
In order to preserve the mystical atmosphere of the historical area and make its characteristic features visible, a dynamic lighting design that can be integrated with cultural and artistic activities was applied.
ABOUT BASEBATAN Cistern
Basilica Cistern, one of the cultural assets that we can trace the glorious history of Istanbul, was built by Justinian in the 6th century. The historical cistern, which was like a stagnant sea in its time with a water capacity of 80 thousand tons, is called "Cisterna Basilica" in Latin.
The structure, which is also known as the Basilica Cistern today, distributed the water obtained from the waterways and rain to the Great Palace where the emperors resided and the surrounding structures, meeting the water needs of the city for centuries. Basilica planned Basilica Cistern, which is the largest closed cistern in the city and attracts attention with its more reused carrier elements than other closed cisterns; It contains a total of 28 columns in a row of 12 east-west oriented and 336 south-north oriented columns. It is estimated that most of these columns in the cistern, which is descended with a 52-step stone staircase, were collected from older buildings.
The cistern, which covers an area of approximately 1000 m², is 140 meters long and 65 meters wide; After the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans in 1453, it was used for a while for the needs of the Topkapı Palace. It is also known that the historical cistern was used as a water well by the people with the slow residential development in the region. The structure, which was not noticed by Westerners until the middle of the 16th century, was almost rediscovered by Petrus Gyllius, a naturalist and topographer who lived in Istanbul between 1544 and 1555.
In the Ottoman Empire, III. Ahmet, for the first time by the architect Mehmet Ağa from Kayseri, II. The Basilica Cistern, which was repaired for the second time during the reign of Abdülhamid, continued to undergo repairs in the following years. In 1955-1960, the 9 columns of the cistern, which were at risk of breaking, were covered with a thick layer of concrete. Medusa heads, the most important symbol of the Basilica, were discovered during the extensive repair and cleaning works carried out by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality between 1985 and 1987. Of the Medusa heads used as column bases, the one located on the west of the building stands upside down, while the one on the east stands horizontally. The Medusa heads here are thought to have been brought from Çemberlitaş, as they show similar characteristics to the Medusa head samples found in the garden of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums and near the Tiled Kiosk.
The magnificent building, which was opened as a museum by the IMM in 1987 after the restoration, also hosted various national and international events over time. The multi-layered memory of the Basilica Cistern, which still preserves the value it has gained as the common heritage of humanity, continues to be a source of inspiration for the future as well.
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