TE16 Turkish Delight

Medusa in there. I was taking notes about her everywhere. My process of studying and writing about her was like a ceaselessly flowing melody. In the book, I was narrating the cistern in detail from its history to its architecture. Now I find out that, actually, I was forming a passage with these information. “We climb down to the cistern by a stone stairwell consisting of 52 steps. We’re welcomed by 336 columns that are 9 meters long each spread on the water as far as the eye can reach. In Istanbul, located at the southwest of Hagia Sophia, this structure known as Cistern Palace among the locals and was built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527-565) is Basilica Cistern. It was used to meet the water demand during Byzantine era, and in Ottoman era, Topkapı Palace’s gardens were watered through here. This cistern, forgotten after the city water supply network was laid down was rediscovered by Dutch traveler P. Gyllius in 16th century. Here, there are two Medusa bases, one on its side and one upside down, under the water drops that drip in harmony from the wet columns. It is known that Gorgon heads were placed in the big structures of the era for protection. It is believed that the Medusa heads have such a function, and they are placed in different positions so that they don’t catch the eyes of anyone who looks at them.” I was working on the book day and night. My attention was always on it. I was visiting Basilica Cistern every day, as well. The atmosphere of the cistern was giving me inspiration. “You’ll complete the book on these damp steps,” a voice inside me was telling me.

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