This huge water storage system was accidentally discovered while demolishing the building above it in 2010. It has been available to visitors since 2018. The cistern was built around 450 CE and was part of a system for delivering and storing water for the fast growing city. Aqueducts brought water into the city from as far as 50 km away but a place to store the water closer to population centers was needed. This cistern likely stores drinking water and not rainwater. There was a serious light and sound show installed inside it with water themes, ancient stature as well as a series commemorating the 100th year of Turkey's independence. We shared the area with a dozen other visitors at most. All of the columns have steel reinforcing rings on them and the lights and speakers are erected on shiny metallic structures.
Some odd sculptures outside the cistern
Looking back to the orange lit stairs
The light and sound show was very cool
The columns had re-enforcing straps on them
The full length of the cistern
The combination of light and dark was fun
The projectors were very large and required their own support structures, but the amount of light they threw out was impressive
The arches on the top were very made of detailed brickwork
The everchanging lighting made for some hasty shots
Luckily we were there with very few other folks
The stairs in the background give this picture a sense of the scale
The Batman signal!
Red is for the Turkish Flag
Celebrating the 100th year of the Turkish independence
We are inside the light show
Very dreamy lady!
The stairs that led up and out
Sculpture in a box
Caged art
So many snakes, a tail snake and feet snakes too
