Under the Ottoman Empire two restorations were carried out, one in 1723 under the command of Ahmed III and was carried out by the imperial architect Mehmet Aga of Caesarea and the other in the 19th century under Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
During the urbanization works that were carried out between the years 1955 and 1960 in this area of Istanbul, eight columns of the northwest part were covered with a thick layer of cement to reinforce them. In 1968 cracks in the masonry and damaged columns were repaired, and there was an additional restoration in 1985 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Museum. The cistern was opened to the public on September 9, 1987.
Ishtar Gate, Babylon, Iraq, 1932 - Library of Congress
One of the tests of the restructurings in the cistern of Istambul.
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Columns reinforced so they do not collapse.
basilica cisterna
reconstruction
