Why go
For more than a thousand years the long open space beside the Blue Mosque was the centre of public life in the city. This was the Hippodrome of Constantinople, a stadium for chariot races begun in the early third century and greatly enlarged by Constantine the Great when he made the city his capital. It could hold tens of thousands of spectators, cheering for the rival Blue and Green factions whose quarrels sometimes spilled into riots; in 532 the Nika revolt that began here left much of the city in ruins and led to the building of the present Hagia Sophia. Today the curve of the racetrack survives in the shape of the square, known in Turkish as At Meydanı, the Square of Horses, and the monuments that once decorated its central barrier still stand.
It costs nothing to visit, takes little time, and helps the rest of Sultanahmet make sense.
What to see
Start with the Egyptian obelisk, carved for Pharaoh Thutmose III about 3,500 years ago and brought from Karnak by Emperor Theodosius I in 390. Only the top section survived the journey, but its hieroglyphs are still crisp. The marble base shows Theodosius and his court watching the races from the imperial box. Next to it, sunk below today’s ground level, is the Serpent Column, a bronze trophy made at Delphi to celebrate the Greek victory over the Persians at Plataea in 479 BC; its three serpent heads were lost long ago, though a fragment of one is in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. Further south stands the rough stone Walled Obelisk, once covered in gilded bronze plates that the Crusaders stripped in 1204.
At the northern end, the octagonal German Fountain, with its green dome and gold mosaics, was a gift from Kaiser Wilhelm II after his visit in 1898.
Plan your visit
The Hippodrome is an open public square, free and accessible at any time of day. Allow twenty minutes to see the monuments, longer if you sit on one of the benches and watch the city go by. Many guided walking tours of the old city begin here, which is a good way to hear the stories behind the stones. The square is lit in the evening, when it is pleasant to stroll between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia after the day crowds have gone. During Ramadan it fills with food stalls and events after sunset. The square is level and paved, so it is easy for wheelchairs and pushchairs. The Sultanahmet stop on the T1 tram is two minutes away. Watch for touts offering carpet shop visits or unofficial guided tours; a polite no is enough. Public toilets and cafés line the edges of the square.
Nearby
The Blue Mosque lines the eastern side of the square. On the western side, the Ottoman palace of İbrahim Pasha houses the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, known for its carpets. Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern are a few minutes north, and the Arasta Bazaar and the Great Palace Mosaic Museum are just behind the Blue Mosque.