336 columns support the brick ceiling. The cistern is about the size of 2 football fields and can hold 27 million gallons of fresh water.
The carp were introduced to keep the water clean. I'm not sure quite how that works, since we all know what fish do in water.
These days the cistern is a tourist destination. You walk through it on slippery platforms. Before the platforms were built, the only way around was to row a boat in the dark- which made the perfectly evocative setting used in James Bond 'From Russia with Love'.
It's quite cool and definitely damp. Why anyone would want to dine at the cafe (below), I have no idea. But then people do many things I don't understand. Nothing new there.
3 comments:
Very interesting! I was thinking - what will they be doing centuries from now when they look back at our technology and think 'how quaint' :-)
I loved the cistern! Had avoided it thinking how could it be interesting? How wrong could I be! Though it was a challenge dodging the random tour groups with their guides...sorry!
LOL, Fran!
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