Basilica Cistern

Well, I went by day and enjoyed it but I can't really compare it because I didn't go at night, and I don't know that anyone here would have done both. I was there in 2007 so I'm not sure what has changed.

I did look at Trip Advisor and it looks like they have some artistic lighting going on that enhances the columns and so on. So that's probably what you are paying for. For me, additional funky lighting would probably not justify the cost. I think that the substance is what I look for, and I got that with my daytime visit. But that's me. 😊

Here's a phrase from my blog about Turkey back then that describes it during the day.

My next stop was the Basilica Cistern, which was used during the Byzantine era to store water for the Great Palace, but was then forgotten for hundreds of years until it was rediscovered in the 16th century. The Cistern lies underground, which creates a somewhat ghostly atmosphere that is enhanced by the dim lighting. As I walked on the bridges over the water below, I could see pale carp swimming around in the darkness accompanied by a few large goldfish. Over 300 columns protrude from the water, including two that are supported by immense upside-down Medusa heads. It was a welcome reprieve from the sun as the temperature must have dropped a good 15 degrees went I walked in.

I visited last year during the day. It's subteranean so the columns are already lit by spotlights, I'm not sure how a nightime visit would enhance the experience unless it's a light show in which case I'd have no interest.

Worth noting: the cistern, like any cistern, is underground (duh...it's a cistern - basically, a water tank, though a gigantic one!). So there's no natural light (without artificial light, it would be pitch black in there).

When we went there last visit (about a year ago), the lighting was varied: overall, generally slightly dim, with "normal" non-colored lights, but there was a program running which slowly switched in colored lighting (orange, green and blue, IIRC) for a minute or so, to enhance the experience (at least I'm sure it was intended to enhance it). Initially, I found it slightly annoying, as I was taking pictures. But I shrugged and went with it, and eventually found the colored lighting enjoyable. Opinions on that may vary, but I can't imagine anyone actually being particularly unhappy with it.

I would assume they run the same lighting program whenever the cistern is open.

I would guess that during evening hours, there will be fewer tourists crowding the place. That's the only difference I would anticipate. I'm surprised that going at night would cost more - maybe there's more of a "show" then?

I believe it's more expensive at night to reduce crowd size. I wasn't able to go there when I visited Istanbul (it was randomly closed for no reason) so I ended up at the Theodosis Cistern, which DOES have a light show all day long. It wasn't very crowded and I thought it was moderately interesting (though I am claustrophobic and not a fan of the dark).

I believe it's more expensive at night to reduce crowd size.

That seems to have worked when I visited in the evening in August, 2024. There was hardly anyone there when I went in the evening! And there was no line when I bought my ticket at their ticket office for my evening visit.

At that time, you couldn't buy evening tickets online. The website used to have language that evening tickets could only be bought onsite at their ticket office, but I no longer see that language on the website, so that may have changed. I tried to buy an evening ticket online to confirm, but couldn't get the ticket engine to load for any sort of ticket purchase.