Walled Column

The Ancient Hippodrome, which was started to be built by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus in 203 and continued by Constantine I, the founder of Byzantium, and is known to be located in Sultanahmet Square today, was an important activity area before the conquest of Istanbul. The building, which has a seating capacity of 30 thousand people, was completely destroyed in the 16th century. One of the most important historical values remaining from the Ancient Hippodrome, where there is a lot of information about its foundations and internal anatomy, is the Knitted Column.

The 32-meter-high Walled Column, which the origin contributes to the visual aesthetics of the Ancient Hippodrome, was made by knitting cut stones on a marble base with an Ancient Greek (Greek) inscription. There were brass plates on the column, but they were removed for use in coin making during the Latin occupation during the 4th Crusade in the 13th century. This situation, which lasted for 57 years, caused serious damage in this magnificent area in general.

The Ottoman period, which started/ruled in the city in 1453, witnessed the years where the columns functioned as a kind of activity tool that can be climbed for entertainment and sports purposes. At this point, a known miniature depicts the monkey standing on a wooden pole and the men climbing the columns. Other evidence regarding the subject is the writings of Pierre Gilles, the French Author. In these, it is mentioned that two men climbed the pillars, one of them descended safely while the other fell from a height and died. The Walled Column, which has recently undergone restoration, is among the historical heritages suggested to be closely witnessed in the city with its silhouette and cultural importance.