The Hippodrome was a long arena/racetrack, with three big columns in the center. This is the brazen column. It is believed to have been cased in bronze, which was then stripped off and stolen during the 4th crusade. It's not in the best shape because of that and because, apparently, the Janissaries used to climb it as a feat of bravery. I believe Constantine erected this tower.
This is the serpentine column, which originally had three serpent heads coming out at the top.
The next one is the Egyptian tower, which Theodosius put in. He took it from Egypt to erect here, but it broke on the way, so is only about a third of its original size. The base has carvings of him and his family at the races.
I would have liked to take a picture to show the length of the Hippodrome, but that's not really possible.
This dome is a fountain put in by Kaiser Wilhelm.
The Hippodrome was connected to the emperor's palace, and at one point there was a big riot, in which lots of people gathered in the Hippodrome and decided to crown their own king. The emperor Justinian wanted to flee, but his wife Theodora convinced him not to, so instead he sent his general out, and 30,000 people trapped in the Hippodrome were killed.
2 comments:
Wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying the pictures and the historical information.
I second that. Turkey is officially on my list of "next adventures," too bad you won't be there still (or will you...?). Bravo!
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