There are places that are so surreal that you even doubt their existance. One of such places is the Yerebatan Sarayi, in English the 'Sunken Palace'. Located about 150 m from Ayasofya in the historical peninsula of Sultanahmet, this is the largest of hundreds of cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) in Turkey.

The Basilica Cistern, how it is also called, and all the other cisterns,  played a key role in providing the city with fresh water, which came from the Eğrikapı water distribution center in the Belgrade Forest (approx. 19 km north of Istanbul) and travelled through the aqueducts of Valens and Mağlov, that still stand to our days.

Built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, some texts claim that 7,000 slaves worked in  the cistern's construction. And this is not hard to believe; just to say something about the proportions, the massive interior is capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water. The weight of the cistern lies on the 336 marble columns by means of cross-shaped vaults and round arches.

Before the restauration works, the only way to tour the cistern was by boat. In the meantime platforms have been built to walk through the impressive complex.

Even if it's always crowded down there, you somehow find the state of mind of being alone. From the sound of waterdrops to the reflections of the vaulted ceiling in the water, you do get this feeling of solitude even when there are hundreds of people at the same moment visiting the Basilica Cistern. Not even the most fantastic scene inside the Moria mines in the Lord of the Rings could top the sight of the forest of columns and the still waters of Istanbul's Sunken Palace.

Basilica Cistern.

Blurry portrait.

Sunken Palace.

The origins of the bases of the the two columns that have a Medusa head are unknown. Legend has it that they are inverted to negate the power of its gaze.

Medusa head and columns.

Reflections.

Basilica Cistern.

So like a scene from the Lord of the Rings!

Artsy shot inside the Basilica Cistern.