Basilica Cistern

Playing: Amy, I-Jack's Mannequin
Reading: Light Boxes by Shane Jones

While in Istanbul, the weather was incredibly hot, so my family decided to save this for the afternoon, since it's cool inside. It's the largest of all of Istanbul's cisterns and was quite interesting. The cistern is where they stored water in the old days and it supplied water to all the fountains strictly through gravity and going downhill. Doesn't it remind you of Phantom of the Opera?

What I find interesting is how fancy it all is and why would they make it so beautiful inside, if they had no idea that people were going to visit it as a tourist attraction? The water must've been pretty clean because no sunlight ever reached the water, so there was no chance for algae to grow or anything else...

There are actually a lot of fish that live in the cistern's water now, so someone has to be feeding them. I loved how many there were and there were actually some really fat carp in the water too.

The main attraction they show are the Medusa heads that help supports two of the columns. They keep on wondering why the builders would do that and also why the heads are upside down or tilted to the side. In my opinion, the builders were probably thinking, "We need some stones about this height, so these heads work great! Oh and if we tip them upside down, they'll be even more sturdy!"

Now the best part is that the cistern holds concerts. I would love to see My Chemical Romance playing here, but giving them a stage this small would be a crime. A crime, I tell you. They need room to run around and dance and be angst-y and stuff. By the way, did I mention to you that I'm going to a My Chemical Romance with Blink 182 concert? And that my friend, Breanne, is coming with me? We have cruddy seats, but the good seats cost over $200, so you know...

Head down to Mavi Cafe, which is right down the street, for some delicious and decently priced food. Your meal comes with pita bread, French fries, salad, mint yogurt spread, tomato/cucumber mix, and a spicy garlic spread.

The tavuk kebap is absolutely delicious and it's served on top of chewy rice. However, I ate the chicken in the pita bread with the spicy garlic spread and the tomato/cucumber mix. The price is decent and the owner is fairly friendly. He actually remembered us, when we walked by later on in the week. The other thing I loved about this cafe was how brightly colored it was! All the tables and chairs were painted in fun colors like sea green, sky blue, rose, and yellow! I hope you're enjoying my travel write ups...