500 feet from the Hagia Sophia is the Basilica Cistern. This impressive sight has been used in the

filming of “From Russia with Love” and “Inferno” by Dan Brown (of the DaVinci Code).

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This huge underground Roman water source is held up with 336 marble columns and can store

100,000 tons of water. It was built in the 4th century using recycled columns from Roman buildings.

The 1963 James Bond movie referred to the cistern as located under the Russian Consulate,

but it is no where near it in real life.

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The book, INFERNO, is popular enough in Istanbul for a special tour by FEST Travel  called

“In Search of Dan Brown’s Historic Peninsula.”

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Roof Top Terraces and boutique hotels are most popular in old town of Istanbul.

Here is The Four Seasons in Sultanahmet’s A’Ya Lounge.