The Cistern of the place belonging to Philoxenus, a senator who had been sent from Rome toı setle in this newly founded city in the reign of Constantine I is considered to be that reffered to as “Binbirdirek Sarnıcı” ( The Cistern of a Thousand and one Columns ) and the water drained away from it many years ago. Located to the west of the hippodromme,ıt was recently cleaned and connected with a gallery to the side street. Now the cistern, measuring 64 by 56 meters, is an easily accessible,interesting and beautiful site to visit. Binbirdirek was built in the 4th century during the reign of Constantine the Great, and historical sources state that Binbirdirek is the oldest known cistern found in İstanbul and this place is realy interesting because of its excellent interior design and superb hewn Stone columns.

There is a thick overlapping astragal running round the columns carrying the vaults and arches. Their capitals, on the other hand, are in the form of a truncated pyramid anda re without decoration. Of the 224 original columns, 212 are still standing.The thick walls of the cistern,the brick vaults,the columns in two tiers bound together by Stone ties, and the plain column capitals create an impressive atmosphere.

During the renovation work small booths for vendors, a cafe, and exhibition areas were constructed, and the hollow section in the middle of the cistern was cleaned of mud to show the original height of the columns.

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