Fatih · TR

Sultanahmet Square

Sultanahmet Square is the open-air heart of historic Istanbul — a long, leafy plaza laid over the footprint of the ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople, where chariot races once drew crowds of up to 100,000. Today the square is free and always open, framed by the Blue Mosque on one side and steps from Hagia Sophia, and studded with monuments that span Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Ottoman history. You don't need a ticket or a guide to walk among them; you only need to slow down and look. The square stretches roughly 450 metres along the central axis of the old racecourse, its paving tracing the curve of the track that now lies two metres below the surface. Three ancient monuments from the Hippodrome's spina — the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column, and the Walled Obelisk — stand in landscaped garden beds along that axis, while the neo-Byzantine German Fountain marks the northern entrance between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.