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Less
than 1 metre of
water still floods the
floor of the cistern.
Further
description
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To
support the sprawling
city above, the strong
columns were ordered
closeley and systematically.
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One
of the two medusa heads
used as bases for columns.
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It
is thought that the carved
medusa heads came from
the city of Chalcedon, on the
Asian side of the Bosphorus
overlooking the entrance to
the Black Sea.
(Chalcedon was the fabled
city of the blind as foretold
by the oracle at Delphi)
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Centuries
underwater
have stained the stone
green.
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Many
thousands of bricks
were used to create walls
over 4 meters thick!
During its modernization
process, earthquake
retrofitting was put into
place.
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The
other medusa head
support. The heads were
not aligned with any of the
columns within. |
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What
a site to behold when
they drained the cistern after
these heads were submerged for
nearly 1400 years! |
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Close
up of the statue head.
One
thing I noted is this head
has no pupils carved into its
eyes, where the other head did,
leading me to wonder if the
heads were carved at all during
the same time period?
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This
column shows an
interestingly carved exterior,
where most columns were
simple and smooth; not much
reason to decoratively adorn
something never meant to be
seen, being both under the city
and submerged in water as well.
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