Water is life. Water is of critical importance for today's and future cities, not only for drinking, hygiene and sanitation, but also for its use in agriculture, industry and energy, etc.sectors. However, despite the increasing water demand due to the continued industrialization and rapid population growth in the 1950s, global water stress, absence and scarcity of water continues. Access to water is restricted through the gradually increasing negative impacts of climate change, and injustice is heightened by the nations’ levels of development and geographical locations. This process necessitates adaptable and integrated water management through international cooperation to guarantee the sustainability of water resources. According to this management, cisterns, where rain and surface waters are stored, are alternative water sources that have been built through solutions and forms specific to location. In this study, the historical cisterns of Anatolia, with respect to their techniques of harvesting rain water and their architectural characteristics, have been analyzed through examples with typological qualities from among the ones in the Bodrum peninsula. As such, the aim is to share information with related disciplines, including city planning, and to create awareness on the adaptability of historic cistern technologies and its contribution to integrated water management.