Voja Mili

Review of The Hippodrome Istanbul

Right next to the Blue Mosque, on Sultan Ahmed Squ...

Right next to the Blue Mosque, on Sultan Ahmed Square, are the remains of the Hippodrome of Constantinople. After the conquest of Byzantium, the Roman emperor Septimius Severus built many buildings in the city at the beginning of the third century, including the Hippodrome.

However, the arena he built was small and unfinished, receiving its full splendor only after Constantine's coming to power and declaring the city the capital of Byzantium. During the Byzantine Empire,
The racetrack - which could seat over 40,000 people - has been the center of social life in Constantinople for nearly a millennium, with two-wheelers, gladiator games, official ceremonies, celebrations, protests and more.
However, this was not the only role of the Hippodrome. Namely, this grand arena was decorated with works of art brought from across the empire, and served as an indication of its splendor and the power of this glorious empire.

After the fall of Constantinople, the Hippodrome continued to be used - but only as a city square. Unfortunately, during the construction of the palace of Ibrahim Pasha (today's Museum of Turkey and Islamic Art) in the 16th century and the Blue Mosque in the 17th century, the arena suffered a lot of damage. In the 18th century it was completely abandoned and eventually destroyed.
Today, in the site of the former Hippodrome, you can see only the remains of this grandiose building - but even that remains is enough to imagine what this arena once looked like.

In the square you can see the Egyptian obelisk, the obelisk carried by the Byzantine emperor Theodosius from the temple in Karnak (present-day Luxor), the Spiral Pillar, celebrating the victory of the Greeks over the Persians, and brought by Emperor Constantine from the Temple of Apollo to Delphi and the Pillar of Constantine Porphyrogenitus.