Hippodrome of Constantinople (Sultanahmet Square): obelisks and columns

Updated on October 1, 2026

The former Hippodrome of Constantinople is today Sultanahmet Square (Sultanahmet Meydanı), known in Ottoman times as At Meydanı, the "Horse Square". It stretches between the [Blue Mosque](/fr/attractions/mosquee-bleue) and the Palace of Ibrahim Pasha, a few minutes' walk from Hagia Sophia. Of the racetrack, what remains is the elongated outline of the square and the monuments lined up along its central axis: the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column and the Walled Obelisk. The square is public, free and open at all hours. Allow 30 to 45 minutes to walk around it and look at the monuments; the hippodrome, endowed by Septimius Severus in 203 and later enlarged by Constantine, was about 450 m long and could hold some 100,000 spectators.

Highlights

The Obelisk of Theodosius

Carved from pink granite under Pharaoh Thutmose III, in the 15th century BC, it stood at the temple of Karnak. Emperor Theodosius I had it erected here in 390; only its upper part was brought over, and it reaches about 25 m with its base. Nearly 3,500 years after it was carved, the hieroglyphs are still crisp.

The carved base of the obelisk

The marble reliefs show the emperor and his court in the imperial box, kneeling barbarians bringing tribute, musicians and dancers, chariot races and the crowning of the winners. Two inscriptions, in Latin and Greek, record the raising of the monument under the prefect Proclus: thirty days according to the Latin text, thirty-two according to the Greek.

The Serpent Column

This bronze column, made of three coiled serpents, was part of the offering the Greek cities dedicated to Apollo at Delphi after their victory over the Persians at Plataea, in 479 BC; the names of 31 cities are engraved on its coils. Constantine had it brought here around 324. The serpents' heads were destroyed at the end of the 17th century; a fragment of a head is kept at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.

The Walled Obelisk

At the southern end of the square, this pyramid of stone blocks, about 32 m high, dates from late antiquity, with no precise known date. In the 10th century, Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus had it restored and covered with gilded bronze plates, which the crusaders tore off and melted down in 1204. The fixing holes can still be seen in the masonry.

The German Fountain

At the northern end of the square, this octagonal neo-Byzantine pavilion commemorates the visit of Emperor Wilhelm II in 1898. Made in Germany and reassembled on site in 1900, it was inaugurated on 27 January 1901, the Kaiser's birthday. Look up at the dome: its golden mosaics bear the monograms of Sultan Abdülhamid II and Wilhelm II.

Chariot races and the Nika riots

For centuries, the Blue and Green factions clashed here over the chariot races. In January 532, their revolt against Justinian, the Nika riots, set the city ablaze and was crushed inside the hippodrome itself; Procopius speaks of about 30,000 dead. [Hagia Sophia](/fr/attractions/sainte-sophie-istanbul), burnt during the riots, was then rebuilt by Justinian.

The Palace of Ibrahim Pasha

On the west side of the square, this palace built in 1524 for the grand vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent has housed the [Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts](/fr/attractions/musee-des-arts-turcs-et-islamiques), known for its carpets, since 1983. It is the only paid part of the walk.

Infos pratiques

Tips

The square can be visited freely and without a ticket; no guided tour is needed to see the monuments, which are surrounded by low railings. Walk all the way around the base of the Obelisk of Theodosius: each side shows a different scene. The Serpent Column stands in a pit that reveals the ancient ground level, lower than the present square. The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Basilica Cistern are all less than 10 minutes away on foot.

How to get there

Sultanahmet Meydanı, Fatih, Istanbul. Tram T1 (Kabataş-Bağcılar), Sultanahmet stop, on Divanyolu Avenue, then about 5 minutes on foot. The German Fountain marks the northern entrance to the square, between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.