Istanbul the Basilica Cistern(土耳其伊斯坦布爾“繁榮之門”·地下水宮)-兒歌薈萃-萬維博客-萬維讀者網（電腦版）

網絡日誌正文

		Istanbul the Basilica Cistern(土耳其伊斯坦布爾“繁榮之門”·地下水宮)	2020-04-29 08:29:33

2015-06-27

Basilica Cistern0001.JPG

【Aiden in English】

Water, to the start of the universe, meant life. Everyone needs water and unfortunately, dehydration was and still can be fatal. About 1,500 years ago, the Byzantine Empire wanted a water source when they were being held under siege to quench their thirst. The underground cistern was established. It not only provided a water filtration system for the Great Palace of Constantinople and other buildings on the First Hill but continued to serve the Topkapi Palace after the Ottomans conquered in 1453 and into modern times.

When looking at the Ottoman Empire in the Medieval Ages, you’ll see an empire stretching from central Europe to Asia Minor, Egypt, and Nubia, covering a complete total of 9,000 square miles or 14,484 sq. km. And as a conquering army took control over land, the people of other powerful armies had to choose sides. One reason why the Ottoman Empire became so … successful was because of the fact that most times, to take over land the empire didn’t even fight. If you were an army rising in strength, your reputation would grow and some enemies get intimidated. So the Ottomans gave the enemy leaders a choice to fight or join the empire, send soldiers, and pay taxes. Its strategy was good for any weaker rulers with little or no experience. This procedure sent the already fast car into overdrive. However, the fall of the Ottoman Empire was getting more and more possible, considering powerful forces were taking interest in them.

The palace of the Byzantine Empire in the capital of Istanbul demanded all the security it could get, and many stories usually sounded exaggerated. Just say that powerful kings fell to poison in the drinks. Water had to be checked if it was pure, and the stupid idea was born from movies of a water checker that tasted all liquids before giving it to the king. The solution was much more local. But a simple water container wouldn’t do any good. They decided to make a reservoir. The people who lived in the palace required a checker for poison. The answer was simple. It was fish and the very ones that ate the algae in the water. If the poison was detected, they would, ah, die in the king’s place. The fish also kept the water clean. With all the crazy stuff built at the time, no wonder another amazing feat in architecture was gonna be constructed. And indeed there was. An underground cistern consisting of 12 enormous reservoirs was created with freshwater 140 feet/43 meters below the surface. They were used frequently during the Ottoman Empire. Nevertheless, what saved the people on many different occasions also seemed a bit spooky. The place wasn’t exactly illuminated well. The only light source was some dimly lit bulbs. The entire cistern was set up with a forest of 336 pillars suspending the roof, sort of similar to a Greek temple. But in truth, it looked quite the opposite. A couple of pillars with the head of Medusa in Greek mythology were flipped upside-down, symbolizing the defeat of the old empires and now there was a new king who took in the town. The eerie lighting made shadows flicker across her face really creepy. Whether the people went overboard or not, this cistern ensured the safety of the palace with a water supply.

It’s a miracle of how the empire even fell since they were so careful of everything and almost too careful. Basilica Cistern surely has more to say.

【紅霞譯文】

水是宇宙的源泉，有水才有生命，人離不開水，遺憾的是，脫水問題一直存在，以前時有發生，今後也難以避免。大約一千五百年前，拜占庭帝國被困，大敵當前又急需水源解渴，於是地下蓄水池應運而生，它不僅為坐落於第一山丘顯赫一時的君士坦丁堡皇宮提供了過濾水系統，而且在1453年奧斯曼奪取政權之後繼續為托普卡帕宮效力，並一直沿用到今。

回首中世紀奧斯曼帝國統治時期，你不難發現其疆域從歐洲到小亞細亞、埃及乃至努比亞，橫亙9,000平方英里／14,484平方公里，武力入侵之後，被占領土所在民眾都會順應形勢，當時奧斯曼帝國之所以勢如破竹，無非在於被吞併的國家放棄抵抗。假如你的軍隊實力如日中天，其聲譽也將名揚四方，敵對一方早已被嚇得魂破，奧斯曼統治者趁機發號施令，敵對首領要麼作戰到底，要麼放下武器帶兵倒戈投誠並上繳苛捐雜稅，這種戰略戰術對不堪一擊或毫無經驗的弱國相當奏效，從而大大加快了軍閥稱霸天下的進度，不過奧斯曼帝國越是猖獗越有可能招來其它強大力量爭奪地盤，最終導致滅亡。

作為帝國首都的伊斯坦布爾，拜占庭皇宮用水需求理應得到安全保障，由此杜撰出許多離譜的故事，比方說萬能的君主喝水中毒。水質必須受到檢查，電影上曾有過諸如此類的滑稽鏡頭，事先先由檢驗官試喝任何飲料，然後才能呈給帝王將相們享用。因此就近解決飲水問題迫在眉睫，但簡單的貯水容器再大也不夠用，修建水庫無疑成為首選，當然皇室同時也需要驗水官來確保飲用水安全。答案很簡單，用魚來控制水質絕對可行，魚吃水藻，一旦水裡有毒，啊哈，這些為皇宮貴族專養的魚類肯定無法倖免；況且，魚還能起到淨化水的作用。對於屢建驚世傑作的帝國而言，再創奇蹟也許指日可待，事實確實如此，距離地表140英尺／43米之深由12個巨型水庫組成的地下水宮應時而起，並在奧斯曼帝國得到更加廣泛地使用。然而這個所謂拯救人類的地方看上去十分恐怖，裡面黑咕隆咚，僅靠一些暗了吧唧的電燈泡照明，336個石柱鼎力撐起屋頂，有點像希臘寺廟，不過實際上卻恰好相反。兩個頂端帶有希臘神話傳說美杜莎的石柱倒立於水宮之中，象徵着舊日統治者被徹底推翻，如今取而代之的是新興王朝。陰森森的光線照在美杜莎的臉上，氣氛襯托得令人發毛，且不說這麼做是否過分，至少地下水宮的水質絕對安全可靠。

帝國衰亡的過程說來可謂一個奇蹟，因為他們幾乎竭盡全力，想方設法要避免走上絕路，伊斯坦布爾的地下水宮堪稱這段歷史最好的見證。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2015: Istanbul—Topkapi Palace, Turkey(土耳其伊斯坦布爾—炮門皇宮)

2015: Istanbul the Blue Mosque, Turkey(土耳其伊斯坦布爾—藍色清真寺)

2014: YMCA Camp—Video Games(基督教青年會營視頻遊戲)

2013: 雅虎箱被盜(YHOO Email Hacked)