Here's a look at the various obelisks and monuments in the Hippodrome. You'll notice from the pictures that things are in a bit of a state of disrepair. The people who placed these monuments here have been dead a long, long time.
Another aspect of the park that doesn't show up in the pictures - its full of young folk, sitting on benches smoking, talking and smooching. Also, don't forget, we had Zülküf in tow with us still - which explains why there's a number of pictures missing (as in, we forgot to take them), like the Egyptian obelisk.
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| The base of the Obelisk of Theodosius, erected in 390AD, the carvings showing the family of Theodosius. | The lower part of the base of the Obelisk of Theodosius, inscribed in Latin. The obelisk itself is believed to originate from Luxor, Egypt, around 1500BC. | |
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The Serpent Column, believed to date from 479BC, it was shipped here from Delphi. The snakeheads that once adorned its top were knocked off by drunken Polish noblemen in the 18th century (serious party animals, those 18th century Polish noblemen). One of the heads (serpent heads, not Polish noblemen heads) is in the Archeological Museum of Istanbul. | |
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| The Column of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, named after the man who restored it in the 10th century AD. Apparently it was once sheathed in bronze. | The base of the Column of Constantine Porphyrogenitus (try saying that ten times fast), the inscription in Latin, the graffiti apparently in English. | |
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| The only other monument in the park is the much more recent domed fountain commemorating the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II to Istanbul in 1898. | A look at the interior of the domed fountain. |
Amazing, huh? And this was just a casual walking tour of the local neighborhood!