Istanbul: Places
Photos & Words: Salina Christmas

Whatever's left of the Hippodrome.

As the name suggests, this area next to the Blue Mosque was formerly a Roman horse racing track. You can still make out the U-shape of the course, but it's very much a communal green now.

Pictured in the foreground is the bronze Serpentine Column, a war booty taken from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece. The three entwined heads got removed; only one remains in a local museum.

Behind it is the Column of Constantine. The gold that once covered the column was stripped off by the Fourth Crusaders — an attack on the then Christian city over some disputes. Four gilded horses that belonged to the Hippodrome got carted off to Venice where they now stand. The gold got sripped off the horses, too.