Hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square)
Local name: Sultanahmet Meydanı (Hipodrom)
- Built
- 390
- Visit time
- 30 min
- Open
- Always open
- Entry
- Free
In Roman and Byzantine times this was a chariot-racing arena for tens of thousands. Today the square holds the Obelisk of Theodosius (15th century BC, raised here in 390), the Serpent Column brought from Delphi, the Walled Obelisk and the German Fountain of 1901.
Tip
Free to visit; you pass through it walking between Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.