Istanbul Basilica Cistern Skip-the-Line Ticket & Audio Guide in 9 Languages (30-Minute Guided Tour Option)

Skip the line into the Basilica Cistern

Meet your guide opposite the main entrance of the Basilica Cistern, skip the ticket line and enter right away. With the audio guide option, scan your ticket at the entrance, then explore at your own pace for as long as you like with an audio guide in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, Russian or Turkish. With the guided tour option, walk through the cistern for about 30 minutes with an English-speaking guide.

Walk among 336 marble columns

The Basilica Cistern was built in 532 AD under Justinian I to supply water to the Great Palace and nearby public buildings. 336 marble columns, each about 9 m tall, stand in 12 rows of 28, and many were reused from earlier Roman buildings, so you can compare a variety of styles. Amid the dim lighting and columns reflected in the water, get a glimpse of Byzantine engineering.

Find the upside-down Medusa head columns

Deep inside the cistern are two columns with Medusa heads, one placed sideways and one upside down. Why they were placed this way is still unknown, and many legends surround them.

※ Photography is allowed, but flash photography is not.