The Cisterns and Aqueducts of Constantinople

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  • Опубліковано 15 тра 2024
  • The aqueducts and cisterns of Constantinople made up the most extensive water supply system in ancient history. This video - shot on location in Istanbul - explores the Basilica Cistern, the Binbirdirek Cistern, and the Aqueduct of Valens. For more, check out my travel channel @scenicroutestothepast
    My new book, "Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines" is now available! www.amazon.com/Insane-Emperor...
    Please consider supporting toldinstone on Patreon:
    / toldinstone
    If you're so inclined, you can follow me elsewhere on the web:
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    Chapters:
    0:00 Aqueduct of Valens
    1:00 Cisterns of Constantinople
    1:42 Basilica Cistern
    3:33 Binbirdirek Cistern

КОМЕНТАРІ • 234

  • @QUIRK1019
    @QUIRK1019 6 місяців тому +216

    Imagine fishing by firelight among creepy old marble capitals on a pitch black and dead silent lake. I'd be terrified to go disturbing its creatures.

    • @Dave_Sisson
      @Dave_Sisson 6 місяців тому +13

      It's perfectly safe, I suspect you have been watching too many cheesy B-grade horror films.

    • @bobthecomputerguy
      @bobthecomputerguy 6 місяців тому +5

      I think you would need firelight during the day in this cistern.

    • @blacksage2375
      @blacksage2375 6 місяців тому +13

      gollumgollum

    • @game_boyd1644
      @game_boyd1644 6 місяців тому +22

      @@Dave_Sissona 15th Century Anatolian fisherman wouldn't know that though....

    • @leof8887
      @leof8887 6 місяців тому +13

      @@Dave_Sisson perfect use case here for the "you must be fun at parties" remark

  • @Arkanic
    @Arkanic 6 місяців тому +138

    Walking into one of these for the first time must be like walking into another world. Fantastic stuff.

    • @screetchycello
      @screetchycello 6 місяців тому +9

      It's amazing, I've been there

    • @Kaan_is_myname97
      @Kaan_is_myname97 6 місяців тому +7

      that is exactly how it feels. You Welcome to our country and visit these beautiful places !

    • @PRH123
      @PRH123 6 місяців тому +5

      The basilica cistern is wonderful. It's been used in many films due to its mysterious atmosphere.

  • @erawanpencil
    @erawanpencil 6 місяців тому +245

    This videos always make me wonder what would be the best way to NOT have your monuments destroyed by the forces of future humanity? It seems like practical structures like aqueducts and cisterns survive best... I really wish the ancients made the stonework in those more beautiful and artistic so we could still see their handiwork. Temples in the middle of cities almost always get earthquaked or torn down for building material.

    • @kompo1012
      @kompo1012 6 місяців тому +14

      best way is to not be on anyones mind then evil thoughts nor good thoughts can reach it.

    • @patricksnoring4739
      @patricksnoring4739 6 місяців тому +26

      It’s either that or ensure it gets converted into a church

    • @3waystopcock
      @3waystopcock 6 місяців тому +3

      lots of arches?

    • @westrim
      @westrim 6 місяців тому +43

      Make it too much of a pain in the ass to move again, and impossible to topple over.
      Make it a pyramid.

    • @johndavidmyself8039
      @johndavidmyself8039 6 місяців тому +19

      Which is why My Memorial will also function as a sewage processing station.

  • @edgarsnake2857
    @edgarsnake2857 6 місяців тому +101

    I'm happy to say that I visited the Underground cistern. At that time, about 30 years ago, it was a very rarely visited tourist spot. During the time my friend and I were there, we were literally alone!! It was magnificent and very eerie. The cistern was featured in one of the James Bond movies. The place is amazing, particularly if you like massive columns plundered from ancient buildings, which I do. Thanks for another fascinating video.

    • @777jones
      @777jones 6 місяців тому +2

      I was there in January and skipped it. Major regret currently!!

    • @CigarAttache
      @CigarAttache 6 місяців тому

      Which Bond movie?

    • @esoterra8050
      @esoterra8050 6 місяців тому

      @@CigarAttache ua-cam.com/video/_C4onQG3ViY/v-deo.html

    • @BlaBla-pf8mf
      @BlaBla-pf8mf 6 місяців тому +1

      The cistern was ny favorite place I visited in Constantinople

    • @melihy9658
      @melihy9658 6 місяців тому

      From Russia With Love
      @@CigarAttache

  • @sinansahin7202
    @sinansahin7202 6 місяців тому +24

    I was there yesterday.Great structure

    • @optimusprinceps3526
      @optimusprinceps3526 6 місяців тому +5

      I'll be there in mid December 👍

    • @MrSomethingElse
      @MrSomethingElse 6 місяців тому +6

      breath taking! you are fortunate!

    • @optimusprinceps3526
      @optimusprinceps3526 6 місяців тому +3

      @@MrSomethingElse We have been saving, and were supposed to go before Covid-19, now We are going to visit the Mediterranean 👍

  • @DOLRED
    @DOLRED 6 місяців тому +43

    James Bond movies always seem to show unique locations. So be it for the 1963 movie "From Russia With Love," #2 in the Bond series. One scene shows the Basilica Cistern with Bond and his advisor cruising through it in a canoe. They were headed for the Russian Embassy I believe. One look convinced me then we were being shown a Roman Ruin, but it made no sense since the columns were surrounded by water!! The movie said nothing about the cistern I recall. Thanks for the video.

    • @blacksage2375
      @blacksage2375 6 місяців тому

      I think they call it a sewer?

    • @shannonkohl68
      @shannonkohl68 6 місяців тому +5

      As they are coming down the stairs, Kerim Bey (Bond's "advisor", really the local agent) says it was built by Constantine as a reservoir.

    • @Ozymandias1
      @Ozymandias1 6 місяців тому

      It was also featured in the Tom Hanks movie Inferno as the place where some environmental zealots wanted to release a deadly virus to kill off half of humanity to "save the planet".

    • @N3ur0m4nc3r
      @N3ur0m4nc3r 5 місяців тому

      Goldeneye

  • @optimusprinceps3526
    @optimusprinceps3526 6 місяців тому +19

    We are going on a Mediterranean cruise in December, spending some time in Istanbul, as well as other ports o call, we shall use your informative videos as a guide in Italy, Greece, and Turkey

  • @Sangth123
    @Sangth123 6 місяців тому +8

    That second cistern, given how tall it actually was before the modern floor, really must've been impressive to see back in the day.

  • @olorin4317
    @olorin4317 6 місяців тому +5

    Oh wow, double columns and marble collars. I never knew they did that.

  • @Trenz0
    @Trenz0 6 місяців тому +15

    That Basilica Cistern is otherworldly fascinating. Absolutely amazing.... As if I needed more reasons to visit Turkey

  • @PatrickPierceBateman
    @PatrickPierceBateman 6 місяців тому +31

    It's a shame there was never a chance to study the fish Petrus Gyllius reported seeing when the Basilica Cistern was rediscovered. It would be interesting to know how they adapted to living in the cave-like environment of the cistern.

  • @terrenusvitae
    @terrenusvitae 6 місяців тому +9

    They're wonderfully cool on a hot Istanbul day.

  • @annazakhary949
    @annazakhary949 6 місяців тому +6

    You should write a guide book of ancient Rome’s structures that still exist and can be visited, not only in Rome, but in countries like Turkey, Tunisia, Spain, Croatia, etc.

  • @treasuredstoneworks
    @treasuredstoneworks 6 місяців тому +8

    Absolutely breathtaking history. The use of spolia is particularly interesting. Thanks Told in Stone for your eloquent speech and direct and engaging way of sharing this information!

  • @PopeLando
    @PopeLando 6 місяців тому +12

    In the last video you looked through a window and from a few arches and long pillars stretching down, I joked that you had found Khazad-Dûm (the City of Moria from Lord of the Rings). But oh my god this is the real deal!

  • @rodionromanovich449
    @rodionromanovich449 6 місяців тому +14

    Oh heck yeah! Always been interested in things underground like cisterns, cryptoporticus', hypogeums etc. Arles, France has good examples of all

  • @H0wlrunn3r
    @H0wlrunn3r 6 місяців тому +1

    Thank you so much for all of this.

  • @Thepriest39
    @Thepriest39 6 місяців тому +27

    It's too bad that we don't have a time machine that we can peer into the past to see what stuff looked like in the time of when it was built.

    • @spiderh
      @spiderh 2 місяці тому

      You never saw this buildings for this times. They were fresh water depots, and no-one could not see this buildings, only authorized people. They are protected places. When Turks era, Turks never used standing water, for this reason they did not use this depots.
      A Turk proverb said: "You never aptes in the same water with two times."

  • @bobliminal2664
    @bobliminal2664 6 місяців тому +1

    I love the work you do!! Thank you for sharing

  • @johnspizziri1919
    @johnspizziri1919 6 місяців тому +2

    You sir, are an absolute treasure. Thank you!!

  • @kalrandom7387
    @kalrandom7387 6 місяців тому +7

    MORE PLEASE!!!
    Really I would love to see more of these sites, maps with travel paths would also be fantastic. So much knowledge had to have been lost to go from structures like that to water supply systems now.

  • @alexanderurbanite1880
    @alexanderurbanite1880 6 місяців тому

    ahhh i always wondered about this teardrop column, thanks so much for covering it!

  • @milztempelrowski9281
    @milztempelrowski9281 6 місяців тому +2

    Fishing on a boat in a newly re-discovered cistern of the romans in the 16th century is certainly on my list if I ever build a time machine.

  • @SobekLOTFC
    @SobekLOTFC 6 місяців тому +3

    Keep up the great work, Garrett 👍

  • @RickLowrance
    @RickLowrance 6 місяців тому +1

    Wow. So amazing. Thanks for such a great video.

  • @edcosgrove9730
    @edcosgrove9730 6 місяців тому +4

    Thank you. Fascinating as ever... They really remind me of the Mezquita in Cordoba.

  • @mynameisforrest
    @mynameisforrest 6 місяців тому +3

    Great upload, you got the best content on all of youtube! Peace

  • @elaztec.aztecca
    @elaztec.aztecca 6 місяців тому

    Fascinating stuff thank you for sharing with us!!

  • @CarthagoMike
    @CarthagoMike 6 місяців тому +2

    What a beautiful shots

  • @dj-kq4fz
    @dj-kq4fz 6 місяців тому +2

    Thanks! Very enjoyable.

  • @paleobuzz
    @paleobuzz 6 місяців тому +9

    thank you for staying true to live narration and not giving in to botvoice software. You have a pleasant and distinctive voice that meshes well with the content.

  • @robbabcock_
    @robbabcock_ 6 місяців тому +1

    Fascinating stuff!

  • @brute9867
    @brute9867 6 місяців тому

    Absolutely incredible

  • @_-.Everlast.-_
    @_-.Everlast.-_ 6 місяців тому +4

    Truly magnificent, and that's just the plumbing lol.

  • @alexkalish8288
    @alexkalish8288 6 місяців тому +2

    Great job and explanation. I have been in the cistern decades ago - Amazing engineering .

  • @Nagstersept109868
    @Nagstersept109868 6 місяців тому +2

    Good stuff, thanks.

  • @tinderbox218
    @tinderbox218 6 місяців тому +1

    This is fantastic

  • @josephtrahan8045
    @josephtrahan8045 6 місяців тому +2

    Amazing awesome. Simply the best! Not to mention interesting

  • @hasanabireactionsclips
    @hasanabireactionsclips 6 місяців тому +1

    So cool this was an awesome video to watch today

  • @andrewlowder7739
    @andrewlowder7739 6 місяців тому

    Fascinating!

  • @theolewell7535
    @theolewell7535 6 місяців тому

    thank you, too. interesting material.

  • @gaius_enceladus
    @gaius_enceladus 6 місяців тому +1

    *Wonderful* architecture! Functional, designed to last and beautiful too!

  • @tomholroyd7519
    @tomholroyd7519 6 місяців тому +3

    OMG Mines of Moria 🙂 I once played for 36 hours straight

  • @kidmohair8151
    @kidmohair8151 6 місяців тому +3

    these are fascinating structures.
    one of the defences of Constantinople, along with its walls.

  • @tomwahl7838
    @tomwahl7838 6 місяців тому

    Fascinating.

  • @n990
    @n990 6 місяців тому +1

    Amazing!

  • @12TribesUnite
    @12TribesUnite 3 місяці тому

    This is an AWESOME PLACE! GREAT VIDEO!

  • @superdivemaster
    @superdivemaster 6 місяців тому

    Excellent Video ...

  • @goldgeologist5320
    @goldgeologist5320 4 місяці тому

    Dry impressive engineering and construction!

  • @Greensiteofhell
    @Greensiteofhell 3 місяці тому

    Very cool stuff!

  • @calebdoner
    @calebdoner 6 місяців тому

    Fascinating and impressive! I never dreamed these existed!

  • @Chris.Davies
    @Chris.Davies 2 місяці тому

    2:00 - The inspiration for countless films, TV shows, and video games.

  • @user-rl3iv2jk9q
    @user-rl3iv2jk9q 6 місяців тому +2

    Fascinating , and unknown to me . Very enlightening in terms of ancient water management benefitting a civilized and commerce-inflated population .

  • @peterhutley4254
    @peterhutley4254 6 місяців тому +1

    Absolutely wonderful. Constantinople must have been an amazing city at its height.

  • @benda2483
    @benda2483 6 місяців тому +3

    Hey Garret, the new forehead fables podcast was great, you're always a awesome guest

  • @AhJodie
    @AhJodie 6 місяців тому +1

    Brilliant and beautiful intelligent structures! I had dreams of these long before I knew they existed, they were so intense that I still remember, perhaps 40 years ago. In my dreams, there was more elaborate decorations and people were walking like here and other places.

  • @thislittlelightofmine8776
    @thislittlelightofmine8776 6 місяців тому

    That was awesome, never seen anything like that!

  • @XXfea
    @XXfea 6 місяців тому

    So great 😮

  • @JuniperJadePR
    @JuniperJadePR 6 місяців тому +1

    I wanna go visit them now -they're just so impressive to look at!

  • @sjoerdjuxta
    @sjoerdjuxta 6 місяців тому

    beautiful place

  • @shinola228
    @shinola228 6 місяців тому +2

    Interesting video. Would have been interesting to see what sits above it and how they manage to keep it dry. Anyway thanks for posting this.

  • @caiuspostumiusturrinus1024
    @caiuspostumiusturrinus1024 2 місяці тому

    This is so freaking cool 😎😎 you gotta go back soon!!

  • @sarahmiller5632
    @sarahmiller5632 6 місяців тому

    So interesting!

  • @seththebeatmxchine
    @seththebeatmxchine 6 місяців тому

    Wow i really really liked this one. Idk what did it for me. Maybe the background noise was such a bice touch? Excellent shots of the columns? I love old columns maybe that? Your voice sounded better in this one too imo, more refined, more confident. Idk i just loved the aesthetic and editing and voiceover, everything, great job in this one. Wish it was a little longer just because i love columns so much.

  • @Wilsonrre
    @Wilsonrre 6 місяців тому

    I raise a goblet of Valensin festooned stem to ur voiceover capture when braving the traffic din, or the audio editor's art. 200 Roman active or ruins still surviving in all the earthquake activity!

  • @theletterw3875
    @theletterw3875 6 місяців тому +1

    I got to visit these during my stay, though most of it was closed for renovation when i was there. In beshiktas where i stayed, the further up the hill you got, the more aqueducts and waterway ruins dotted the busy metropolitan streets around you, its amazing. I wish i had learned the language so i could have been a better resident.

    • @juniorjames7076
      @juniorjames7076 6 місяців тому

      Wow, you stayed in an amazing neighborhood (my favorite actually) in Istanbul!! I taught English to university students in Turkey from 2013 to 2018 and I spent many nights with friends bar hopping in Besiktas district, plus the Naval Museum and the BJK football stadium is nearby! Great memories.

  • @xavierpaquin
    @xavierpaquin 6 місяців тому

    Awesome

  • @bartolomeothesatyr
    @bartolomeothesatyr 6 місяців тому +4

    I have a photo of the Basilica Cistern in my Wallpapers folder, but the photo doesn't provide much in the way of a sense of scale. It's very cool to be able to see video of the place with people walking around it so I can see how tall those columns actually are!

  • @Fdeubcfhbbjhfd
    @Fdeubcfhbbjhfd 6 місяців тому

    Cool!

  • @jakealden2517
    @jakealden2517 6 місяців тому +3

    Thanks for another great video. Just wondering why they would have columns with such detail an ornamentation at the base if they were going to be under water? Thanks.

    • @toldinstone
      @toldinstone  6 місяців тому +7

      It seems like a waste, doesn't it? Apparently, Justinian's architects had access to quite a few elaborate columns from demolished buildings, and using them - even in a place where they would never be seen - was more economical that carving new ones.

  • @Edidan_64
    @Edidan_64 6 місяців тому

    Amen ❤

  • @Dalex1910
    @Dalex1910 6 місяців тому +1

    Could you do a video about the renowned sewage system of byzantium ?

  • @garlicbreathandfarts
    @garlicbreathandfarts 6 місяців тому +3

    I appreciate you appreciating this part of the world.

  • @baddudecornpop7328
    @baddudecornpop7328 Місяць тому

    “Mines of Moria” vibe indeed!

  • @joncohen6059
    @joncohen6059 6 місяців тому

    Wow. I work for the public works in my city and we have underground reservoirs constructed in a very similar fashion from the early 20th century. Amazing how the basic engineering has not changed in 2000 years.

  • @1Kent
    @1Kent 6 місяців тому +1

    I think one of those Dan Brown novels was filmed there.

  • @josephphoenix1376
    @josephphoenix1376 6 місяців тому +2

    Saw them on James Bond From Russia with Love...

  • @whoopinyou
    @whoopinyou 6 місяців тому

    So glad you did a video in Istanbul! It’s an amazing city, those cisterns are incredible.

  • @richymind
    @richymind 6 місяців тому

    There is a really cool restaurant in there as well.

  • @Calatriste54
    @Calatriste54 6 місяців тому +3

    Bring back the Byzantine Church in Asia Minor..

  • @yertnert2624
    @yertnert2624 6 місяців тому +1

    Constantinople is a beautiful city

  • @wernervoss6357
    @wernervoss6357 6 місяців тому

    I was just there a month ago.

  • @Fabermain
    @Fabermain 6 місяців тому +1

    I just finishe listning to insane emperors on auible. i couldnt review it But 5 out of 5 stars from me. The monitary and mining chapters, was great as well as the last 3ed of the book was right in my alley tho i thought there was some Egyptian writing about atlantis that was left missing. like where the greeks got them from. i believe it was solon or something like that who gave the myhts to plato.

  • @Prosper661
    @Prosper661 6 місяців тому +1

    Teeming with fish? What were they feeding on?

  • @guyfawkesuThe1
    @guyfawkesuThe1 6 місяців тому

    So the Basilica Cistern was the one pictures in the Bond movie "From Russia with Love"?

  • @Blackadder75
    @Blackadder75 6 місяців тому

    Which one was used in the James Bond movie ?

  • @pinchevulpes
    @pinchevulpes 6 місяців тому

    Serpico thought he was so slick trying to trap Guts in here 😂

  • @marusamusapusa
    @marusamusapusa 6 місяців тому

    Была в Цистернах в прошлую среду 😍🤩👍

  • @timmillan6701
    @timmillan6701 5 місяців тому

    I would pay to see it

  • @user-hu6pk3zs3i
    @user-hu6pk3zs3i 6 місяців тому

    What's on top of the cisterns though?

  • @transvestosaurus878
    @transvestosaurus878 5 місяців тому +1

    _And they call it a cistern, a cistern!_

  • @Blumetric7
    @Blumetric7 5 місяців тому

    You’d like Assassin’s Creed revelations. Tons of this in game underground and above ground

  • @ShortbusMooner
    @ShortbusMooner 6 місяців тому +2

    Geniuses..

  • @jamest2401
    @jamest2401 6 місяців тому

    It’s funny, the lighting and I guess camera tricks in 'Inferno', made the Basilica Cistern seem much larger.

  • @DuncanL7979
    @DuncanL7979 6 місяців тому

    Makes me think of the Water Temple in Zelda

  • @GrayShark09
    @GrayShark09 4 місяці тому

    What is the volume of these cisterns in comparison to the volume of Hagia Sophia?

  • @explosivehotdogs
    @explosivehotdogs 6 місяців тому

    No doubt influenced the design of Labyrinth Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog games

  • @marioc9168
    @marioc9168 3 місяці тому

    Cistern!
    -Vader

  • @danielating1316
    @danielating1316 6 місяців тому +1

    Why did the various armies who besieged Byzantine Constantinople over the centuries not attack its aqueducts and water system? Or did they?

  • @bencordell1965
    @bencordell1965 6 місяців тому

    It's just like a mini mall