Notes

Notes from the research

Short, sourced answers to the questions behind our sleep-history episodes: what people ate, how the city got its water, what a winter night sounded like.

• What Did Hagia Sophia Look Like When It Opened in 537?Gold vaults with no faces, a dome that seemed to hang from heaven, and marble of many colours. What Justinian's church looked like on its first day, and what came later.
• Why Was the Basilica Cistern Built? Water in Justinian's ConstantinopleConstantinople had no great river. The Basilica Cistern was built under Justinian to store water for the dry summers. What the sources say, and where they disagree.