Basilica Cistern Fast-Track Guided Tour with Blue Mosque Audio Guide

The Basilica Cistern, the underground palace of Sultanahmet

The Basilica Cistern, Yerebatan Sarnıcı in Turkish, was built in the sixth century under the Byzantine emperors on the site of an earlier basilica, to store water brought by aqueduct from the forests north of the city for the Great Palace and the public baths. It is the largest of the hundreds of cisterns beneath old Istanbul: about 140 metres long and 70 wide, with 336 marble columns in twelve rows holding up its brick vaults, many of them salvaged from older temples.

Forgotten after the Ottoman conquest, it was rediscovered when residents were found drawing water and even fish through holes in their floors, and it was opened to visitors after cleaning. A Basilica Cistern guided tour is the quickest way to understand what you are looking at; our Istanbul team thinks it is the most atmospheric half hour in the old city, especially on a hot afternoon when it is cool underground.

The columns, the Medusa heads and the Weeping Column

Raised walkways lead you through the column forest under soft red and amber lighting, with the still water below reflecting every capital. Your guide points out the differences between the Corinthian and Doric capitals, the columns taken from the Forum of Theodosius and the Weeping Column, carved with teardrop-shaped eyes and said to honour the hundreds of workers who died in the building.

At the far north-west corner lie the two Medusa heads, enormous marble blocks used as column bases, one turned sideways and one upside down. Nobody knows for certain why: protection against the evil eye, simple reuse of old stone, or a deliberate reversal of the pagan image. The guide tells the legends and the archaeology, and after the thirty-minute tour you can stay as long as you like with the audio guide and the art installations placed among the columns.

The guided tour and the fast-track entry

The visit starts at your booked time, 10:00, 12:00 or 15:00, when you meet the licensed guide outside the cistern entrance in Sultanahmet. Your fast-track ticket takes you past the ticket queue and through the express security check, which cuts the wait that otherwise forms at Basilica Cistern opening hours in high season; security itself is compulsory for everyone and can take longer during religious holidays.

The guided part lasts about thirty minutes in English (Spanish-speaking guides are also available on request), then the group is released and you continue alone with the cistern audio guide on your smartphone. Best time to visit the Basilica Cistern is the 10:00 slot, before the cruise groups arrive; the 15:00 slot is good in summer, when the cool air underground is a relief after the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia squares.

The Blue Mosque, Sultan Ahmed Mosque

The Blue Mosque was built between 1609 and 1617 for Sultan Ahmed I facing Hagia Sophia across the old Hippodrome, and takes its popular name from the more than twenty thousand blue İznik tiles that cover its interior walls. It is the only mosque in the city with six minarets, its cascade of domes is one of the icons of Istanbul and it remains a working mosque where the five daily prayers are held.

With this product you visit the Blue Mosque on your own, any day, using the audio guide on your smartphone in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Romanian, Russian or Chinese; entry is free. Blue Mosque visiting hours are outside the five prayer times, with a longer closure for Friday midday prayers, so plan your visit for mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Dress modestly: shoulders and knees covered, a headscarf for women, shoes removed at the door.

Sultanahmet square and the rest of your day

Both sites sit around Sultanahmet square, the heart of the old city, with Hagia Sophia between them, the Hippodrome with its obelisks beside the mosque, Topkapı Palace five minutes north and the Grand Bazaar ten minutes west along the tram line. How to get to the Basilica Cistern: take the T1 tram to the Sultanahmet stop and walk one minute, or come on foot from any old-city hotel; from Taksim the funicular to Kabataş and the tram take about thirty minutes.

A good half day is the 10:00 cistern tour, Hagia Sophia (tickets bought separately), lunch in one of the halal restaurants of the old city, then the Blue Mosque with your audio guide after the midday prayer. The Grand Bazaar is open Monday to Saturday for the late afternoon, closed on Sundays and public holidays.