Brown's new book brings flood of visitors to Basilica Cistern

ISTANBUL  

Record number of tourists visited Istanbul's Basilica Cistern with the wave of bestselling author Dan Brown's latest book, "Inferno."

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) stated Monday that last month, 240 thousand people visited the Basilica Cistern, or Sunken Cistern, to set a record number of visitors of the gigantic underground water storage chamber which is located at Sultanahmet district of the city.

Brown's Inferno mentions famous tourist attractions also in Florence and Venice.

- Basilica Cistern

Basilica Cistern, one of the magnificent historical constructions of Istanbul, is located near southwest of Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia). This huge cistern, which was built in 542 by Justinianus I, a Byzantine Empire, began to be called by the public "the Sinking Palace."

The underground cistern, which provided water to the grand palace during the Byzantine Empire where the emperors lived, was used for a further while after the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans in 1453. The gardens of Topkapi Palace were irrigated with the water from this cistern.

The Basilica Cistern was turned into a museum and opened to visitors by the Istanbul Municipality after restorations it has undergone in recent years.

englishnews@aa.com.tr