Osmanlı Döneminde Yerebatan Sarnıcı ve Mahallesi

Abstract

Studies of the restorations of Byzantine structures during the Ottoman period and of their placement within the urban fabric have been limited to certain types of buildings; cisterns have not been among them. This study discusses the Ottoman restorations of the Basilica Cistern and the neighborhood built upon it. Its main purpose is to identify the Ottoman restorations carried out in the cistern and to explore the relationship of the structure to its urban landscape. The neighborhood, including its main street, stables, and palace, became known by the name of the cistern above which they were located, Yerebatan. The cistern’s columns, arches, and vaults supported the ground and provided a flat surface upon which the neighborhood was built. First, the study aims to analyze the cistern and the neighborhood with the aid of two previously unpublished plans as well as a cross section of the cistern. Second, it seeks to identify the transformations in the street pattern, the layout of dwellings along the streets, and the social makeup of the area through the analysis of an 1803 sketch of the neighborhood and an 1874 property register. It concludes that the cistern, which became the key component of the ground topography in Yerebatan, shaped the neighborhood’s morphology.