Czech showpieces will complement the magical atmosphere of the Cistern continuously from August 1 to November 30, 2024, and will be seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors of Istanbul flowing to the Cistern during daily tourist tours and during other cultural and social events. The exhibition in this particular shape and size is unique: after its end, the works will be taken to galleries and private collections around the world.
The exhibition will be officially opened on July 31, 2024. The curators of the exhibition are Mr. Mahir Polat, Secretary General of the Istanbul Municipality, and Mr. Miroslav Kroupa. The exhibition is based on the themes of the underground, perception of reality, mythology, reflection and transformation. Vlastimil Beránek's crystal works interact with the water and stone world of the Cistern and participate in creating its new dynamics of water, light, colors and reflections. Jaroslav Prošek's works connect glass that was first produced in Mesopotamia roughly 6,000 years ago with subfossil oak wood material from the same period, and raise questions about collective memory and the present.

The Basilica Cistern was built in the 6th century by the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I with a capacity of 80 thousand tons of water and an area of approximately 10,000 m². The underground structure has a total of 336 columns, most of which were probably collected from older structures. During extensive repairs in the 1980s, the most important symbol of the Basilica, relief blocks with the head of Medusa, were discovered. After the most comprehensive reconstruction to date, the Cistern opened to visitors on 22/07/2022 and offers daily tours, contemporary art shows and cultural and artistic events.