Hippodrome of Constantinople Guided Tour
Sultanahmet Square is the Hippodrome. Begun by Septimius Severus and enlarged by Constantine, it was a chariot-racing arena holding tens of thousands, and the political centre of Byzantine Constantinople.
- At the gate
- £6.80
- Allow
- 1h 30m
- District
- Sultanahmet
- Closed
- Open daily
The Hippodrome, in short
Sultanahmet Square is the Hippodrome. Begun by Septimius Severus and enlarged by Constantine, it was a chariot-racing arena holding tens of thousands, and the political centre of Byzantine Constantinople.
Almost nothing of the structure survives above ground, but the shape of the square still follows the track, and three monuments from the central spina are still standing where they were placed.
What it costs
The square is open and free. The guided tour is u20ac8 separately and included on the pass u2014 worth it here, because without it you are looking at three obelisks in a park.
Getting there
Take the T1 tram to Sultanahmet. It sits directly between the Blue Mosque and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.
How long to allow
Thirty minutes with a guide. It is a natural start to a day in Sultanahmet, since everything else is around it.
The monuments
The Obelisk of Theodosius is Egyptian, carved for Thutmose III around 1450 BC, shipped here in 390 AD and still crisp. Its marble base shows the emperor watching the races.
The Serpent Column was cast from Persian shields captured at Plataea in 479 BC and brought from Delphi u2014 one of the oldest Greek objects anywhere. The Walled Obelisk is Byzantine, once sheathed in bronze that Crusaders stripped in 1204.
Why it mattered
Racing factions here were political movements as much as sporting ones. In 532 the Nika riots began in this arena, burned much of the city and nearly toppled Justinian u2014 who then rebuilt Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern in the aftermath.
Frequently asked questions
- It is Sultanahmet Square, between the Blue Mosque and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.
- With a guide, yes u2014 it was the political heart of Byzantine Constantinople and the monuments are extraordinary. Without one, it reads as three columns in a park.
- The Obelisk of Theodosius, Egyptian and around 3,500 years old; the Serpent Column from Delphi, cast from Persian shields captured in 479 BC; and the Byzantine Walled Obelisk.
- About 30 minutes with a guide.