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DAVID PEARSON / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
SUBTERRANEAN CISTERN. A jungle of 336 marble columns, the Basilica Cistern lies beneath Istanbul’s streets and holds up to 20 million gallons of water. Justinian I built the cistern in the sixth century. It supplied water to major structures of Constantinople, including Justinian’s palace and the Hagia Sophia. To build the cistern, Justinian recycled architectural elements from other buildings, including two blocks that feature Medusa, a monster from Greek mythology, as column bases (see cover of this issue).