Maggie shook off her Benedryl-induced coma on Wednesday morning and we decided to make our way to Aya Sofia. We arrived at the entrance into Aya Sofia, but thought we should see a cistern first and get some stamps for post cards we had purchased the day earlier. We headed towards the Basilica Cistern about 3 blocks from Aya Sofia, as there were kiosks (tourist traps) set up selling post cards/water/stamps/Chinese-made crap.
While at the kiosks, we decided to tour the Basilica Cistern. The cistern was built in the 6th Century and is older than the Binbirdirek Cistern we had visited the previous morning. Part of a James Bond movie was filmed in the cistern ("From Russia with Love") - but I could not tell you what happened in the movie.
We decended into the cistern. First and foremost, there were more tourists in this cistern than the Binbirdirek. No less than three tour groups were doddering along, including the group from Japan. Unlike the Binbirdirek Cistern, a boardwalk courses its way through the Basilica Cistern, as there is about 1-2' of standing water on the brick floor. We watched carp and koi meander around, looking for scraps of food dropped by the visitors.
In one corner of the cistern, two Medusa Head colums are present. One of the heads is upside down, the other (pictured) rest on the side of her head. The heads were removed from a Roman building and placed in the cistern.
We finished the cistern a half hour later, and decided to head back to Aya Sofia to take the tour there. By the time we arrived at Aya Sofia, the queue was over an hour to enter the museum. Faced with a decision, we made haste to Eminonu to explore a few mosques and the bazaars and meet up with Alexander and Bridget.
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