Hippodrome and Monuments

Istanbul’s Hippodrome was once the largest of its kind in the world. Although not much is left of it these days, it nonetheless remains a grand site and it’s easy to imagine the ghosts of horses past galloping down its wide path.

Construction of the Hippodrome began in 203 AD by the Roman emperor Septimius Severus and it was completed by Constantine the Great in 330 AD. Because of its immense seating capacity (some estimate as high as 100,000 on tiered seating), the population of Constantinople came in droves to observe the ceremonies, sporting events, demonstrations, and even executions which took place at the Hippodrome. During the Ottoman era, the Hippodrome was especially used for chariot races, lending it its Turkish name ‘At Meydani’- literally ‘Horse Square.’

Many beautiful treasures once graced the Hippodrome; however, the brutal plundering of the city during the Fourth Crusade (1204AD) mean that only three significant ancient monuments remain.

One of these monuments is the Egyptian obelisk, which dates back to approximately 1490BC, when the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III had two obelisks erected at the Karnak Temple in Luxor. In the 4th century AD a Roman emperor had one of these colossal obelisks brought to Istanbul. The obelisk, which stands at 25.6 metres, is made from a rare kind of pink granite and rests on bronze blocks on a Roman base which is decorated with reliefs depicting people watching chariot races. Due to its huge size and weight it lay in a corner of the Hippodrome for many years until finally being erected in 390AD.

Also on display is what is left of the Column of Constantine Porphyrogentus. This Byzantine Column has a marble base with bare stone blocks on top of it. It is named for the fact that Constantine VII Porphyrogentus restored it in the 10th century. The column originally contained bronze relief plaques but during the Fourth Crusade of 1204 these were torn off and melted down to be reused.

The ancient Serpentine Column, standing at 8 metres tall, is the one of the oldest monuments in Istanbul, dating back to 479BC. The Column is the product of melted down bronze items taken by the thirty one Greek cities that defeated the Persians in the same year, who later displayed it at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. It showed three intertwined serpents carrying a large gold bowl on their heads. Theory has it that it was brought to Istanbul in the 4th Century by Constantine the Great. The heads are now missing, but part of one of them can be viewed at the nearby Istanbul Archaeological Museums.

The Hippodrome also contains a fountain which was gifted to Sultan Abdulhamit and his people by the German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II to celebrate the alliance between the Germans and Ottomans. The fountain was transported from Germany and installed in the Hippodrome in 1898. It is a beautiful fountain, made from marble and decorated with gold mosaics in the interior of its dome.

Important attractions nearby include the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Turkish Islamic Arts Museum and Gulhane Park.