Aqueduct of Valens

The Aqueduct of Valens stands out as a massive series of stacked stone arches bridging a valley between two of Istanbul's historic hills. Completed in three hundred seventy-three under Emperor Valens, this structure was once the vital terminal of a vast, hundreds-of-kilometers-long water supply network stretching back into the hills of Thrace. By funneling water into the city’s heart, it supported the baths, cisterns, and daily life of Constantinople for over one thousand four hundred years.