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Istanbul's Byzantine Hippodrome was
the heart of Constantinople's
political and sporting
life, and
the scene of games and riots through
500 years of Ottoman history
as well (map).
It's
now a calm city park called
the At Meydani (Horse
Grounds) because of its function
in Ottoman times.
Yerebatan
Saray, the Sunken Palace
Cistern, is beneath the
little park at the northern end
of the Hippodrome.
Above the hidden cistern is a stone
tower that was once part
of the city's system of aqueducts.
Beside
the stone tower is the Milion, the
zero-mile-marker on the road called
the Mese, the Roman road
between Constantinope and Rome. The
street is now called Divan
Yolu.
Ayasofya
(Hagia Sophia) is across the
street from the stone tower, Topkapi
Palace is just beyond Ayasofya,
and the Istanbul
Archeological Museums are next
to Topkapi, down the hill bordering Gülhane
Park.
During
a visit in 1901, Kaiser Wilhelm
II of Germany erected an elaborate
temple-like fountain near
the northeastern end of the Hippodrome
as a gift to the sultan and his people.
Facing
one another across the Hippodrome are
the Mosque of Sultan Ahmet
III (Blue
Mosque) and the Museum
of Turkish and Islamic Art.
Monuments decorating
the Hippodrome include
the 3500-year-old Egyptian granite Obelisk
of Theodosius, brought to Constantinople
by Emperor Theodosius in 390 AD.
You'll
also see the spiral
bronze base of a three-headed
serpent sculpture brought from
Delphi in Greece (the serpents'
heads are in the Archaeological
Museum just down the hill).
At
the southwestern end of the Hippodrome
is the bare stone Column
of Constantine Porphyrogenetus, dating from the
10th century.
Cheap Flights to Bodrum
The beach is ideal for children, so click to find cheap flights to Bodrum.
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