Binbirdirek Cistern

The Binbirdirek Cistern is distinguished by its forest of two hundred twenty-four columns, each made of two stacked marble shafts joined in the middle by a stone collar. This distinctive design choice was a practical solution for the builders, who found it easier to handle and set these smaller, segmented pieces than to transport monolithic pillars tall enough to support the vaulted ceiling. While its name translates to the cistern of one thousand and one columns, it is an expressive title rather than a literal count.