On our 1st morning in Istanbul, 24th February 2015, we visited Hippodrome early morning (8:11am) so that after visiting it we could line up at the entrance of Hagia Sofia at its opening time, which gets crowded later on. Our hotel was near thus we just walked to reach here. You can read about the hotel we stayed in on the following link:
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What is left of the actual Hippodrome is a small park with 4 artifacts:
- German Fountain
- Obelisk of Theodosius
- Serpentine Column
- Constantine Obelisk
The details of each artifact are given below. Not much to see but if you have read about the history then you can use your imagination to visualize how this place once looked like and what use to happen here.
Location: 41.005840, 28.975318 (Near Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia)
German Fountain: 41.007068, 28.976663 (in the Northeastern corner of the Park)
Constantine Obelisk: 41.005640, 28.975068 (at the far Southern end)
Opening Time: 24hr but visible in daylight
Ticket: Free
Time Required: 30min
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| From 20150224-23 - Istanbul Day 1 and 2 - Riyadh Airport - Grand Bazar |
After the Ottoman's conquest in 1453AD the Hippodrome and neighboring Grand Palace started falling into disrepair. The Palace was eventually replaced by the huge Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome was turned into the large Atmeydanı Park you see today. Most of the structure of the Hippodrome is long gone, but the still follows the original U-shaped path and has retained a few key artifacts.
German Fountain: The fountain was a gift to the Sultan and the Turkish people from Kaiser Wilhelm II when he visited in 1901. The fountain may seem modest, but a peak under the roof reveals a beautiful gold mosaic.
Obelisk of Theodosius: This ancient Egyptian obelisk was originally built by Pharaoh Tutmoses III at the temple of Karnak in 1450BC, Rome had conquered Egypt in 30BC but it wasn't until Constantine's son requested all Pagan temples be closed in 356AD. The Obelisk of Theodosius was then moved from Karnak to Alexandria fairly quickly. The two obelisks stayed in Alexandria until 390AD when Emperor Theodosius moved this one to the Hippodrome and the Lateran Obelisk to the center of Circus Maximus in Rome. Today, only the upper third of the Obelisk of Theodosius remain as the rest of it was damaged during transportation. The large marble pedestal it sits on today depicts Emperor Theodosius crowning chariot game winners.
Serpentine Column: Which looks like a broken twisted pipe. The Serpentine Column was originally built in 478BC in Delphi, Greece as an offering to Apollo in honor of the Greek victory in the battle of Plataea. It's said to be made from the melted down shields of fallen Persian soldiers, the Greeks defeated there. Originally the twisted pipes were the bodies of serpents whose large head held a golden tripod topped with a large golden bowl and it stood for over 800 years before being moved to the Hippodrome. The Column actually remained intact until about 300 years ago when it was plundered, but the upper jaw of one of the serpents was recently found and is on display at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
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| From 20150224-23 - Istanbul Day 1 and 2 - Riyadh Airport - Grand Bazar |
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| From 20150224-23 - Istanbul Day 1 and 2 - Riyadh Airport - Grand Bazar |
Constantine Obelisk: (Walled Obelisk) Emperor Constantine VII built this monument in the 920s in honor of the triumphs of his grandfather Emperor Basil I who rose to power after starting as a peasant. The obelisk was built with rough stone, topped with a large sphere, and covered it with gilded bronze plates showing grandfather's victories including Epeus. Unfortunately the adornments were stolen and melted down during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 exposing the rough stone below. Many other monuments once covered the Hippodrome grounds such as four large bronze horses from Greece which are now in front of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice Italy.
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-urShadow
References:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obelisk_of_Theodosius
- http://www.bigboytravel.com/europe/turkey/istanbul/freewalkingtour
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