The Basilica Cistern, also called the Yerebatan Sarayi or Yerebatan Sarnýcý, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that still lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey.

This cathedral-sized cistern is an underground chamber of 140 by 70 metres, capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water. The large space is broken up by a forest of 336 marble columns each 9 metres high. Curiously, the base of one of these columns is carved into the head of a medusa.

The cistern was used as a location for the James Bond film From Russia With Love.

The Basilica Cistern, also called the Yerebatan Sarayi or Yerebatan Sarnýcý, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that still lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey.

This cathedral-sized cistern is an underground chamber of 140 by 70 metres, capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water. The large space is broken up by a forest of 336 marble columns each 9 metres high. Curiously, the base of one of these columns is carved into the head of a medusa.

The cistern was used as a location for the James Bond film From Russia With Love.

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