The Hippodrome in Istanbul, Turkey
The oldest monument of Constantinople stands in the Hippodrome, a public square, originally the ancient circus for chariot-racing. In the centre is a spina, the longitudinal barrier in the centre of the Hippodrome. In the centre of the spina are two obelisks. The larger one of pink granite was brought from Egypt and erected for the Roman Emperor Theodosius I in CE 390. It was originally made for Thutmose III, who ruled Egypt from BCE 1479 to 1425 . ( almost 3500 years ago) It is very well preserved.
While in transit, down the Nile River, part of the base was removed.
At the far end of the Hippodrome is a fountain to commemorate the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm in 1898 and the formation of an alliance. The alliance brought the Ottoman empire into the first world war and weakened the Ottoman military. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk led a revolt for independence and became the first president of the Turkish Republic in 1923.
Those pictures are amazing! I should show them to my son, since we’ve been studying ancient history this year.
We don’t build monuments like that fountain anymore for a state visit. Instead, we spend millions to attract sports figures (Olympics, stadia)- what a misplaced set of values!
Thanks for sharing the pictures of the Hippodrome.
Nice images. One of the places we missed when we visited Istanbul. We hope to visit again because it was awesome :-).
I’ve been to Istanbul once and loved it. Since there is so much to see and I was there to work, this was one of the sights I missed.
Thanks for getting some memories going! 🙂
Unbelievable and amazing photos and monuments/buildings. You could not replicate those today! I need to travel more!
And Anne, that’s why we are on the Challenge. Blog on!
What breathtaking photos Doug! I can’t get over the buildings and the detail on them way back in time. I’m in awe!