Aspar Cistern

Submitted by Iza on Mon, 11/08/2021 - 10:37

Many travellers visiting Istanbul are aware of the ancient Basilica Cistern, an underground water reservoir located near Hagia Sophia. The huge capital of the Eastern Roman Empire - Constantinople - needed a lot of water, so it had plenty of such cisterns and many of them have survived to our times. Moreover, in addition to underground reservoirs, such as the so-called Theodosius Cistern, there were huge open-air cisterns in the city, and Aspar Cistern is one of them.

This text is a fragment of a guidebook to Istanbul: "Byzantine Secrets of Istanbul".

Visit to the Sacred Cave at Miletus

Submitted by Iza on Wed, 11/03/2021 - 17:09

Text and photos by Glenn Maffia

Following the recent press reports informing us that the cave beneath Miletus’ theatre was now open to the public, I and two companions decided to journey along to the Meandros River delta to locate and explore this mysterious natural fissure.

October 2021 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Mon, 11/01/2021 - 15:45

Among the most significant archaeological discoveries announced in Turkey in October 2021, a 12.000-year-old temple found during excavations in Boncuklu Tarla is possibly one of the most amazing ones. Moreover, a 2,000-year-old altar was unearthed in the ancient city of Alexandria Troas, while a 1,600-year-old church was discovered in Priene. Finally, 300 square meters of mosaics from the late Roman-early Byzantine period in central Kayseri province’s Incesu district.

Church of St. Polyeuctus

Submitted by Iza on Tue, 10/12/2021 - 11:28

In the very centre of the Fatih district in Istanbul, near the seat of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, in a small park there are modest ruins of a building that in its heyday was the largest church of Constantinople, erected to resemble the Solomon Temple in Jerusalem. The tale about this building is connected with the histories of two people: Saint Polyeuctus, to whom it was dedicated, and Anicia Juliana - its founder.

This text is a fragment of a guidebook to Istanbul: "Byzantine Secrets of Istanbul".

September 2021 in Turkish archaeology

Submitted by Iza on Fri, 10/01/2021 - 15:33

In September 2021, the archaeologists working in the area of Turkey reported the discovery of the mosaics belonging to the Byzantine period in a complex of buildings in Balatlar in the northern province of Sinop. Moreover, dozens of graves and the remains of houses were found during excavations of the 7,000-year-old ancient mound of Arslantepe, newly inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage Lists. The discovery of 5,000 seal impressions at the same site leads archaeologists to explore and piece together how bureaucracy worked nearly 6,000 years ago. Finally, the 27th round of excavations started in the Elaiussa Sebaste ancient city in Mersin Province of southern Turkey.