İstanbul is a city which is full of surprises even for locals who have visited its neighbourhoods time and again thinking that they know them by heart! One of the reasons for this is that İstanbul is a multi-layered city in which each civilisation built on top of others. Think that Ottoman Turks built on top of the remaining pieces of Roman monuments and temples whereas the Romans had earlier built on Greek settlements in the city.
One of my biggest surprises has been the discovery of a secret Roman cistern underneath a Rug Store. The owners of Nakkaş Rug Store only discovered this Roman Cistern through mere coincidence when they were doing a restoration in the building. What they discovered by mere coincidence was a rather humble Roman Cistern which is approximately 1500 years old. This is when they decided to reconstruct the whole building in order not to exert any pressure on this ancient gem.
Note that it is estimated that there were around 200 cisterns in ancient Constantinople so İstanbulites might be surprised to discover new cisterns ‘well and alive’ underneath the city similar to the one underneath Nakkaş Rug Store.
The good news is that you can visit it after you have visited the Rug Store to see the glory of a 1500 years old Roman Cistern which hosts a fabulous exhibition of ancient Constantinople with its monuments and sculptures.
Nakkaş Rug Store
Make sure to make a reservation to see the Cistern through Nakkaş Rug Store. Visit the store at nakkas.com.
